The Pirate and The Fox
by RandomWriter10293
Summary: Naruto joins Luffy on his adventure to become the Pirate King. Serious Naruto. Cover Image by xxMeMoRiEzxx
1. Romance Dawn

**This is my first fanfiction so if there is anything that you can think can be improved please tell me via constructive criticism. In this story Naruto will be serious and slightly dark, so yeah…. pretty OC. This will all be explained in a later chapter. **

The Grand Line. To some people Paradise, to others a nightmare. Before the Golden Age of Piracy, only the bravest dared to enter the Grand Line, however due to the death of Gol D. Roger's more and more amateur pirates have entered the treacherous sea in hopes of finding the greatest treasure known to man, the One Piece. The treasure left behind by the pirate king.

**22 Years After the execution of Gol D. Roger**

In the small Foosha Village in the East Blue, many of the villagers were gathered around the port, waving to two people in a fisherman's boat. The eldest of the two was standing proudly waving back to the people, while the younger one was sitting down leaning against the boat with a confident grin plastered on his face. The eldest one turned to look at the younger boy.

"Come on Naruto! Don't you wanna say goodbye to everyone?" The young man asked. The man was dressed in a sleeveless red vest, short blue trousers and a straw hat resting peacefully on his head. He had messy raven locks and scar under his left eye and a wide grin. The young boy now known as Naruto looked up at the man.

"Because this won't be the last time they see us Luffy, we're gonna be in plenty of newspapers soon." Naruto replied calmly. He wore fingerless opera-length black gloves with red-brown studded leather straps, baggy black pants that a pouch on the back pocket and a kunai holder on the left thigh, red-brown sandals and a baggy dark red shirt** (1)**. He had untamed, blonde spikey hair, sky blue eyes and six whisker marks, three on each cheek giving him a feral-like appearence.

"Guess your right! Shishishishi!" Luffy chuckled while he continued waving back to the villagers.

"Goodbye Luffy and Naruto!" Shouted a woman with green hair pulled back into a hair band leaving the bangs and an apron.

"See ya Makino!" Luffy replied back.

"Don't go up causing trouble, you're already bringing shame to the village." Advised an elderly man with a simple yellow-collared shirt, khaki shorts and a fisherman's hat. He had a mustache and beard.

"Baka, Wood Slap." Naruto muttered silently.

"What did you say, brat!" Wood Slap shouted.

"That you're a baka!" Naruto shouted back, he turned to face Luffy, leaving a fuming Wood Slap behind them, "You ready to get going?"

"Yep!" Luffy answered with his grin still on his face. He was about to go to the oars when he noticed a shadow overcoming the boat. Luffy turned around to see the Lord of the Coast looming over them. Naruto looked over it lazily and then looked at Luffy.

"You got this?" Naruto asked. Luffy smirked.

"Do you have to ask?" Luffy answered with a rhetorical question, he then looked up at the sea king "You were the one that took Shanks arm." He declared. As the mighty sea king launched forward Luffy pulled his arm back, "**Gomu Gomu no…**" just before the Lord of the Coast made contact with the boat Luffy launched his fist forward and connected hard with the sea king's face "**Pistol!**" With that punch the sea king was sent a good 20 meters away.

The villagers cheered as Luffy managed to defeat a deadly sea king with single punch.

**Somewhere in the East Blue**

A large cruise ship was making its way throughout the East Blue. It currently held a large party with some of the richest people in the East Blue attending. The sailors weren't allowed inside the ballroom, but that didn't stop them from having a few drinks outside. One of the sailor's that was currently in the crow's nest was looking out for pirates or anything unusual. As he was looking around he noticed a barrel floating towards the ship.

"Oi! Get that barrel out of the water, hopefully there's something of value inside!" The sailor told the other crewmembers down below. Doing as they were told, they heaved the barrel out of the water and placed in on the ship.f

"Bloody hell, what's inside this thing, it weighs a lot!" One of the sailors carrying it said.

"Carry that to the…" The sailor started to say when he saw something in the corner of his eye, he turned to it and gaped at it when he saw it. It was a large pink ship, with four sails, one of them higher up than the other three. On each of the sails was a heart and the figurehead was a duck with hearts replacing the eyes. But the thing that scared him was the flag that was on the mainmast. It was the flag of the Alvida Pirates.

"Pirates!" The sailor shouted. The ship was immediately in a frenzy of panic. The crewmembers where desperately trying to calm down the passengers, but their efforts where in vain.

**Alivda Pirates Ship**

All of the pirates were lined up on the deck of the ship. With an extremely obese woman staring them down.

"Okay boys! This is a good haul I'm expecting so don't let me down, especially you Coby!" She shouted at the crew, at the end eyeballing a scrawny looking kid with pink hair, glasses and looked completely out of place "It's looting time!" And with that the raid began. The pirates were either jumping or zip lining across the gap.

While all of the others were out doing all of this, Coby was trying to hide from all of the chaos. In truth he didn't even want to be there. He wanted to be a marine but in a mix-up he became the chore boy for a horrible and extremely overweight pirate. He was looking around for something to take that wouldn't be risky. A barrel rolled past him and that's when he got the idea. He would take the barrel and then put it with the rest of the barrels of rum in the food and drinks storage in the ship and hide out there for the rest of the raid. Coby walked over to the barrel and attempted to lift it up, but couldn't even manage to pick it off the ground.

"What type of barrel of rum weighs this much?" Coby silently asked himself. As he knew that he couldn't lift it up, he settled for rolling it. Just before he got there three other members of the crew stopped him.

"Whatcha got there Coby?" The more muscular one in the group asked.

"J-Just a barrel of rum I-I was going to take t-to where we keep the drinks." Coby replied nervously and quietly.

"That's quite a big barrel of rum. I don't suppose you were going to keep it for yourself Coby?" The other members took this as a silent hint and started to make their way to the barrel slowly. Coby picked up on this.

"A-Are you s-sure you wanna do t-this, what if Alvida f-finds out?" Coby advised them.

"Oh, we know what she'll do, that's why she's never gonna find out. Isn't that right Coby?" He eyeballed Coby, his hand on his sword. Coby nodded quickly "Now lets get this bad boy open!" He raised his sword into the air and and just before the sword was able to smash open the barrel.

"What a great nap!" Luffy shouted as he smashed his way out of the barrel, knocking out the pirate in the process. Luffy looked at his surroundings, "He shouldn't sleep on the floor, he could catch a cold."

"You were the one that did it!" Everyone shouted at Luffy.

"I did? Shishishishi!" Luffy laughed at himself.

"Don't think your gonna get away with this!" One of the pirates shouted. They started to advance onto Luffy.

"Ahh! Run!" Coby screamed in panic. He closed his eyes so that he didn't have to see what happened to the man. He opened his eyes after a while to see a sight that he certainly didn't expect. Both men had been taken down by the straw hat wearing man who was standing casually as if nothing happened.

"Jeez, what are these guy's problems?" Luffy asked to seemingly no one, he looked around to see if there was anyone else, "Oi, Pinky is there any food around here?"

"Y-yea t-there's some in t-the f-food storage." Coby answered, too scared to tell him off about what he called him.

"Cool! Let's go!" Luffy shouted. They walked to the food storage. Luffy literally jumped at the crates of food, "Mmmm… I wonder how much meat they have…" he wondered to himself as he started to drool. He was slightly disappointed when it turned out that it was just apples.

"M-my name's C-coby, w-what's yours?" Coby asked nervously.

"The names Luffy, future King of the Pirates!" Luffy introduced himself.

"K-king of the Pirates!?" Coby repeated.

"Yep, that's my dream."

"I-impossible! The King of the Pirates controls the sea, he's the strongest pirate there is, they have to defeat every other pirate on the seas, they have to traverse through the Grand Line , you'll die-" He was interrupted by a hit across the back of the head from Luffy, "Ow! Why did you do that for?"

"Cause you were annoying me, look it's my dream. I promised a very important person that I would make my dream come true and if I die, then I die. It's alright if I die trying to achieve my dream," Luffy explained while twirling his hat on his finger, "you have a dream right?"

"Y-yea…I…I want to be a marine! I want to arrest bad pirates like Alvida!" Coby confessed. Then there was a crack in the floorboards above them, and then Alvida came falling down, creating a large cloud of dust doing so.

"COBY!" She screamed.

"Y-y-yes Alvida-sama" Coby addressed, hoping that she didn't hear what he said.

"Who are you going to arrest exactly?" Alvida asked.

"U-uh, w-w-well, I-I w-was j-just-" Coby stuttered.

"COBY!" Alvida shouted, causing Coby to stop immediately, "Who is the most beautiful woman in all of the seas?"

"W-well that w-would," Coby started, but then he remembered the talk that he had with Luffy about following their dreams, "definitely not be you! You fat whale!"

"Shishishi! Good one Coby!" Luffy congratulated.

"How dare you!" Alvida screamed as she brought her iron mace down on his head.

'_Well, at least I was honest at the end'_ Coby thought to himself as he was preparing for death. What he didn't expect was to hear a thud before it connecting with his head. He looked up to see Luffy's head in-between him and the mace.

"Sorry, but that won't work on me!" Luffy told Alvida.

"What!?" Alvida couldn't believe that someone could be on the receiving end of one of her attacks and ive.

"I'm a rubber man!" Luffy proclaimed. He grabbed Coby and jumped out of the way of Alvida, "C'mon Coby!" He leaped onto the deck through the hole that Alvida created while holding onto Coby. When Luffy landed on the deck he thought that he would have to fight all of Alvida's men. But instead he saw all of the crewmembers bloody and beaten, some of them dead. He also saw a familiar face sitting on top of a pile of bodies.

"Naruto!" Luffy greeted his friend. Naruto opened one eye lazily.

"About time Luffy. Do you know how hard it was to try and find you after you went through that whirlpool? And then when I got here I had to deal with the cannon fodder." Naruto explained.

**Flashback**

"_Wow! I never thought that our adventure would end so quickly!" Luffy exclaimed when he saw the giant whirlpool that was in their way._

"_You can be such a baka sometimes Luffy," Naruto pointed out as he looked around for something to help them get out of this mess, "Luffy, get inside that barrel there."_

"_Good idea!" Luffy shouted as he jumped into the barrel, "Wait, what are you going to do? There's only one barrel." _

"_I'll figure it out." And with that Naruto jumped off the boat and onto the water. Not into the water. He was standing on top of the water, "shit! I forgot to take into account how rapid the waters would be around a whirlpool!" Naruto said to himself as he saw Luffy get sucked into the spiralling vortex. A lightbulb went off in his head. Naruto started concentrating more of his chakra to the soles of his feet, making him able to stick to the water easier. Naruto started running across the sea, with a lot of difficulty. Once he got out of the clutches of the whirlpool he was met with the next problem, locating Luffy. Naruto sat down on the water in a meditative position, searching for Luffy's chakra signature, "Damn, that whirlpool sent Luffy far!" Naruto exclaimed to himself. The whirlpool sent his captain around two and a half miles away, "Better start running, knowing Luffy he probably already caused trouble." Naruto sighed to himself._

_**10 Minutes Later**_

"_What an ugly ship." Naruto told himself as he looked at the ship in front of him with a terrible figurehead. He could see a larger cruise ship next to it with the pirates raiding it. Naruto started to walk up the ship. When he got to the deck he had to deal with the grunts. _

"_Oi, what do ya think your doin' here!" One of the lowly grunts questioned as he started walking up to Naruto._

"_I'm looking for a friend, he's got a straw hat and a scar under his left eye." Naruto described Luffy._

"_Look kid, just cause you're weak doesn't mean I ain't gonna kill ya!" The grunt said when he got right in Naruto's face._

"_Funny, that's what I'm thinking as well." Naruto said with a grin on his face._

"_Wha-" He couldn't finish what he wanted to say before Naruto decapitated him with his kunai. The other pirates roared as they ran at the kid who killed one of their crewmembers. Naruto calmly walked over to them, keeping his grin on the whole time._

_Naruto weaved around all of their strikes, while he was gracefully punching, stabbing and slicing them while taking no hits from any of them. Within minutes all of them were on the ground bleeding, moaning in pain._

_"Jeez, I knew that you were weak but with your numbers I thought you would've been tougher." _

**Flashback End**

"I'm gonna get you! You bastard!" They heard the screams of Alvida as she came up to the deck. She was horrified by the sight that she saw, "Straw hat, I'm gonna kill you!"

"I don't think so." Luffy told her as he pulled back his fist across the whole deck, "**Gomu Gomu no…**" he launched his fist right into Alvida's torso, sending her flying off the ship and into the sky, "**Pistol!**"

"Good job Luffy, now all you have to deal with is the three marine ships." Naruto pointed out. Coby looked around and saw that there were indeed three marine ships advancing on them.

"Ah! We gotta go!" exclaimed Coby.

"No shit." Naruto said blankly, he spotted a small boat near the cruise ship with an orange-haired girl in it, sailing away, "I think I got us a ride." Naruto ran up the edge of the deck and leaped towards the boat, Luffy followed suit by launching himself with a **Gomu Gomu no Rocket** while holding Coby. They rocked the boat significantly due to their sudden landing, shocking the girl.

"Ah! What're you doing!?" She exclaimed, she sported an orange mini-skirt with two white rings on each side and a short sleeved top with blue and white lines. She had orange hair and brown eyes.

"Sorry but do you think you give us a trip to the nearest island?" Naruto asked politely.

"What? No get off my boat!" The girl refused.

"Please." Luffy asked again.

"No!" The girl yet again refused.

"Pretty please!" Luffy pleaded.

"No-" The girl started.

"We have money." Naruto pointed out.

"Well of course you can come with me." Her personality took a 180-degree turn, creeping Naruto out in the process.

**Several Hours Later**

The group was sailing peacefully through calm waters, escaping the marines just hours before. During this time they had learnt that the girl's name is Nami.

"Nami, where are we going?" Luffy asked.

"We're going to Shells Town where you'll also be giving me my money." She answered, while looking at Naruto for the last part.

"Yea, yea I haven't forgotten." Naruto told her. Nami looked back at the young boy, lazily leaning against the side of the boat with his eyes closed.

"What's a kid like you doing on the seas like this?" Nami asked Naruto. Naruto was about to answer but Luffy got to it first.

"We're pirates! I'm the captain and he's my first mate. And Coby's gonna be a marine when we drop him off at a marine base." Luffy explained happily. The atmosphere of the boat became intense the second he finished speaking.

"You're pirates?" Nami asked for confirmation.

"Yep." Luffy replied with his grin on his face.

"How could you!?" Nami shouted at his face, "How could be a pirate, you steal and murder people's family and friends." She yelled with anger. Naruto opened an eye to look at her.

"You lost a precious person to pirates didn't you." Naruto stated, looking at Nami in a bored manner.

"Why would you think that?" Nami asked, not liking the fact that some kid was able to figure out that much about her in only a few hours.

"Because your outburst revealed a lot of angry emotion, you must experienced some form of trauma due to pirates when you were younger so you come to an unjustifiable judgement to every pirate you see." Naruto explained.

"Unjustifiable!? Pirates killed my mother! It's perfectly justifiable to hate pirates!" Nami yelled at Naruto, outraged that he would think that it's unjustifiable.

"So pirates did take a precious person from you," Naruto said, confirming his suspicions. Nami immediately covered her mouth, "and it's unjustifiable because you can't judge everything based on one experience. That's like saying that you found a worm in an apple, so think that every apple has a worm in it."

"Have you ever lost anyone!?" Nami questioned.

"No." Naruto answered.

"So you don't know how it feels!" Nami told him.

"Because I never had anyone to lose." Naruto told her. Everyone stopped talking after that, Nami even felt a little sad that she yelled at him like that. They spent the remainder of the trip in silence.

**2 Hours Later**

**Shells Town**

"Thanks for the ride." Thanked Naruto as he handed Nami a hundred beli. Nami took the money and walked off, she was going to haggle with him about only giving her a hundred beli, but after their talk she was less inclined to bargain with him.

"I'm starving! Let's go grab something to eat!" Luffy exclaimed to the crew. They went to a café to talk about their plans for what they were going to do.

"Well, this is it, thanks for taking care of me guys. Even if it was only for a short time." Coby expressed his gratitude towards them.

"It's alright Coby." Luffy told him in-between bites. While the Luffy and Coby were talking and eating, Naruto had finished his meal and was thinking.

'_All of the civilians in town seemed…uneasy. There was something about them, they were fearful of something. But what was it?_'

"Coby," Naruto said getting attention towards him, "what do you know about the marine base here?"

"Well, I know that the captain is Captain Morgan," when he said that, everybody in the café jumped slightly, "that's weird, why would they jump when they hear the name of a captain?"

'_So I was right. If the people are afraid of the captain then the captain must be enforcing some law around. Or maybe he's a follower of the 'Absolute Justice' system. No, this island wouldn't need it, especially not in the East Blue. He's probably passing around an extreme tax. It's not unheard of.' _Naruto concluded. Naruto put his money down on the table.

"I'm gonna go look at the marine base. Coby, you wanna come?" Naruto asked.

"Sure." With that he and Coby started walking down to the marine base, leaving Luffy to finish his meal. As they were walking they started to have a conversation.

"So Coby, why do you want to become a marine?" Naruto asked.

"Because I want to arrest bad guys and help innocents." Coby explained.

"When you were younger you were taught that marines are the good guys and pirates are the bad guys, right?' Naruto asked.

"Yea." Coby replied, not sure where it was going.

"Coby it's not that simple," Naruto sighed, seeing the confusion in Coby's eyes Naruto elaborated, "while there are some good marines whose intentions are good, and while majority of pirates are the bad, sleezy people that people make them out to be. There are also bad marines and good pirates. Bad marines are the marines that don't discriminate between the civilians and the pirate. Bad marines would destroy and entire town just to get one person. Coby, remember this. When you join the marines you'll be starting from the bottom, a chore boy. When you come up in the rankings make sure that you don't lose sight of your morals. Coby thought about what he said for a moment.

"Thanks Naruto, I'll remember that."

The duo continued their way towards the marine base. The marine base had a tall wall around the perimeter to keep invaders out.

"When I go through those doors I will start journey to accomplish my dream, thanks for all that you've done for me." Coby said as he started to make his way to the entrance.

"Coby who's that?" Naruto said as he sat on the wall looking inside.

"Naruto! You shouldn't do that! You could get in trouble!" Coby informed Naruto.

"I can take them," scoffed Naruto, "anyway, tell me who this guy is." Coby joined Naruto on the wall. They saw a lone man in a courtyard, tied to a post. The man wore black trousers that were tucked into his boots, a dirty white shirt and a green harmaki. He had green hair, three identical gold earrings on his left ear and on his head was a black bandanna that shadowed his eyes, making him look very intimidating.

"T-t-that black bandanna, i-it's the Pirate Hunter Zoro!" Coby exclaimed, Naruto raised his eyebrow, he hadn't heared of him before, "H-he's a v-very well known bounty hunter in the East Blue. He's known as the 'Demon of the East Blue'."

"A demon eh…" Naruto muttered to himself.

"Hey guys! What did I miss?" Luffy asked them as he joined them on the wall.

"Nothing much, just found out that the marines have captured the so called 'Demon of the East Blue'." Naruto informed.

"Is he strong?" Luffy asked.

"Of course he is!" Coby confirmed.

"I've decided, he's going to be our new crewmember." Luffy said with conviction. Naruto smirked at the decision. Coby gawked at him.

"Luffy! He's a pirate hunter! He'll kill-" Coby started listing off reasons why he shouldn't ask him to join.

"Shh!" They were silenced by a little girl who had silently placed a ladder against the wall. She climbed over the wall and ran to Zoro.

"Hey, what's that girl doing, Zoro could hurt her." Coby said to himself.

The girl went up to Zoro and presented him with some rice balls.

"I made some rice balls for you." The girl told Zoro.

"I don't want your rice balls, hurry up and get outta here if the marines catch you helping me you'll be in trouble." Zoro told the little girl.

"But I-"

"What's this? A little girl shouldn't be snooping around in a marine base," Proclaimed the new arrival. There were two marine officers walking behind a boy who was wearing a violet colored uniform with white shoes, he walked in an arrogant manner, "oh! Some rice balls, thank you." The man snatched the rice balls.

"Hey give them back!" The girl demanded. The arrogant boy took a bite out of one, and immediately spat it out and stomped on them.

"Gah! What is this, you seasoned it with sugar, you're meant to season it with salt!" The boy complained.

"But I like sweet foods so I thought…" the girl whimpered.

"Officers, throw this girl out." The man commanded. Both looked at each other.

"But sir, she's just a child." One of the officers told him. The man got in the officers face.

"Did you just disobey me? Do you want me to get my daddy on me?" The man asked, the officer went extremely pale. He walked over to the girl and threw her over to Luffy and his crew. Before she hit the ground Naruto jumped and caught her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yea…" she answered, disappointed that she wasn't able to give Zoro the food she prepared.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked.

"Rika." She replied.

"Okay Rika, you should go back to your family, I'm sure they're worried," Naruto told her, "Coby, go with her and make sure she gets home safely." Coby nodded and went with Rika to her family. Naruto turned around to see that Luffy wasn't on the wall and was instead talking to Zoro.

"Join my crew." Luffy requested simply.

"Crew?" Zoro pondered, "That must mean you're a pirate."

"Yes I am," Luffy revealed, "if I untie those ropes you'll have to join me."

"I'd rather die than become a pirate, I'm going to survive the rest of the month." Zoro declared.

"Okay." Luffy started walking away.

"Wait," Luffy stopped and looked at Zoro, "can you…feed those rice balls to me?" He asked, feeling incredibly uncomfortable asking such a question.

"Are you sure? They're ruined." Luffy questioned.

"Yes I'm sure!" Zoro told him. Luffy fed Zoro the squashed and dirty rice balls, making Zoro almost tear up due to the sweetness of the dish, "T-tell the girl it was the best thing I've ever had."

**Café **

"And he said it was the best thing he ever tasted." Luffy told the events to Rika and the rest of the crew.

"Really!?" Rika questioned.

"Yep!" Luffy replied cheerfully.

"Zoro seems a lot nicer than the rumours make him out to be, he's doesn't seem evil at all." Coby pointed out.

"He's not evil!" Rika defended, "The whole reason he's tied to that post is because of me."

"How so?" Naruto asked.

"He defended me and the town from Helmeppo's mean dog, Zoro isn't a bad person, Captain Morgan is the real menace." Rika explained.

"Wait, who's Helmeppo?" Naruto asked.

"He was the mean one with the weird hair style." Rika described Helmeppo, Naruto nodded. It was at this time that Helmeppo walked into the café.

"Get me everything on the menu!" He commanded as he sat down in a booth, planting a foot up on the table, "You know what? I'm gonna execute Zoro in three days! I'm surprised he's even managed to survive this long."

"What did you say!?" Luffy yelled, marching up to Helmeppo, intimidating him and the marine officers around him.

"N-n-n-nothing." Helmeppo lied. Luffy, outraged by Helmeppo, punched him square in the face, shocking everyone in the café.

"Naruto, Coby. We're going." Luffy told them, they nodded and started to leave, "As soon as we've finished eating." He adds at the end. Naruto sighed and sat back down.

"Y-y-you better apologize, I-I'll get my f-father on you!" Helmeppo threatened while holding his bloody nose and crying.

"Hurry and up and do it then," Naruto said simply in-between slurps of his ramen, "When you make a threat you better go through with it." Helmeppo rushed out of the café angrily with the marine officers following him.

"N-now we have t-to deal with the captain." Coby told the group, he was obviously scared.

"Coby you remember what I told you about bad marines?" Naruto asked, Coby nodded, "Well Captain Morgan is one of the those marines, and as a future good marine you have to take care of him."

**Marine Base**

"Daddy!" Helmeppo screamed as he stormed into his father's quarters. "Someone hit me!" After a moment of silence Morgan spoke.

"Son do you know why I've never hit you?" Morgan asked.

"B-because I'm your son." Helmeppo replied, to which Morgan punched him across the face.

"No! Because your not worth hitting!" Morgan shouted. He wore a large, billowing coat and baggy blue pants. He had a metal jaw and the most identifiable thing about him was the huge steel axe replacing his right hand, "Now, I heard that there was an incident earlier this morning regarding a little girl breaking into the compound."

"Yes, I took care of her." Helmeppo told his father, hoping to get some praise.

"So you killed her." Morgan assumed.

"N-no, I c-couldn't order t-that. She's j-just a little girl." Helmeppo told his father, to which he punched him again.

"Baka! Just because she's a child doesn't mean she shouldn't die!" Morgan told his son, "The most important thing in this world is rank, this girl was defying rank therefore she must accept the consequences. Now I have to get to the statue." He said as he left his son.

**Courtyard**

"What do you want?" Zoro asked threateningly, looking at Luffy and Naruto.

"Join my crew." Luffy told him again.

"I already told y-"

"Helmeppo's gonna execute you in three days." Naruto said, getting right to the point.

"What! I should of known he would do something like this. That spoiled brat!" Zoro cursed the arrogant bastard.

"I'm gonna get you outta here!" Luffy said as he started to untie him.

"If I had my swords I could get outta here in seconds." Zoro said. This gave Luffy an idea.

"Okay, I'm gonna go get your swords, so you'll have to join me if you want them!" Luffy told Zoro to which he gaped at Luffy, "Naruto let's go!" Luffy shouted as he threw his arms up to the top of the marine base, "**Gomu Gomu no Rocket!**" He yelled as he launched himself up to the top. However he overshot his launch and accidently smashed into the statue of Captain Morgan, breaking it in half. He turned around to see a group of marines and Morgan, "Shishi, sorry." Luffy apologized while keeping his grin.

"How dare you!" Morgan shouted, "Men! Kill him! Now!" All of the marines charged at Luffy with guns and swords pointed at him. Luffy, however ignored them and went up to Helmeppo.

"Oi, where are Zoro's swords!?" Luffy demanded.

"I-i-i-i-in my r-room." Helmeppo told Luffy. Luffy grabbed Helmeppo and dragged him into the base.

**With Naruto**

'_Luffy's probably already caused a commotion with the marines, I swear to god he knows nothing about stealth_' Naruto thought to himself as he walked through the base, looking for the cafeteria where the officers would be eating lunch, '_he'll be able to find Zoro's swords by himself. I'm gonna go have some fun_' He went into the cafeteria and true to his thoughts there was an entire hall full of marines, with guns and swords.

"I hope you guys are tougher than the Alvida pirates." Naruto told them as he rushed them.

**With Luffy**

"Which room is it!?" Luffy shouted at Helmeppo.

"You just past it." Helmeppo said weakly.

"Why didn't you say so before!?" Luffy yelled angrily. He ran back to the room they past. They entered Helmeppo's room; it was painted pink as was most of the furniture. In the corner of the room were three swords, "I found them!"

**With Zoro**

Coby, who had caught up later, was untying Zoro from the post when he was shot by a marine officer led by Captain Morgan.

"Ah!" Coby screamed in pain as he clutched his arm.

"Kid! Hurry up and get outta here!" Zoro shouted at Coby. Coby, however, got up and started to untie him again.

"I can't run away!" He yelled at Zoro, "Luffy and Naruto wouldn't run away! I want to be a marine, if I can't do this, I'm not worthy!"

"Men! Fire!" Captain Morgan commanded his officers. All of the officers with guns lined up in front of him and fired. Coby and Zoro closed their eyes, neither of them wanting it to end this way. They were both surprised when the bullets they were expecting didn't reach them. Then they realised that it was Luffy that was standing in front of them, guarding them.

"Straw hat!" Zoro shouted, unaware that he was alright.

"Sorry, that doesn't work on me!" Luffy yelled as he bounced the bullets back at the marines, injuring a few of them. He then turned to Zoro, showing him the swords that he had strapped to his waist, "So Zoro, are you gonna join now?"

"I'm already an enemy of the marines, so why not." Zoro said with a smirk on his face.

"Great!" Luffy cheered happily.

"Now untie me!" Zoro told his now captain. Luffy got right to it. Unfortunately he was having…some difficulty untying it.

"I think I just made it tighter…" Luffy said to himself as the marines started advancing on them. Seeing this, Zoro decided to take action.

"Quick! Just give me one of my swords!" Zoro commanded. Luffy gave on his swords. Just in time to, as Zoro was able to cut himself off the post, take his swords off Luffy's waist and block all of the incoming attacks just before they could touch Luffy.

"Thanks Zoro!" Luffy thanked Zoro.

"Luffy, I am part of your crew," Zoro reaffirmed, "however, I will become the World's Greatest Swordsman and if you get in the way of my dream I will kill you."

"Of course! The King of Pirates has to have a strong crew, if he doesn't it's just embarrassing!" Luffy replied cheerfully, "Zoro you better duck!" Luffy warned as he swung his leg back. Zoro took heed of his warnings and ducked, "**Gomu Gomu no Muchi!**" Luffy shouted as he swung his outstretched leg around him to whip all of the marines to the ground.

"How dare you!" Captain Morgan yelled, confronting Luffy, "The most important thing in the world is rank! Yet you are here, disobeying rank! You must pay!" Morgan brought his axe down on Luffy, who easily sidestepped the blow. The fight continued on like this, it was very one-sided. Luffy kept on hitting Morgan without taking a blow himself.

"Stop!" Helmeppo shouted, regaining the attention. He had a gun pointed against Coby's temple, "You make one more move and four-eyes gets it!" He threatened. Luffy looked at this impassively, he pulled his arm back and launched it right into his face.

"**Gomu Gomu no Pistol!**" Luffy shouted as sent Helmeppo through the air, knocking him out at the same time. While he was doing this Morgan raised his axe-hand into the air, preparing to bring it down on Luffy's head. Zoro was prepared to act, until someone beat him to it. The axe shattered into pieces and many cuts appeared leading form his wrist up to his left eye. Following up from the cuts, Naruto appeared in the air above Morgan.

"**Akuma Doroppukira! (2.)**" Naruto shouted as he landed a devastating drop kick to Morgan's head, knocking him out cold. Naruto landed on the ground, next to the unconscious Morgan.

"Good one Naruto!" Luffy congratulated Naruto. Naruto grinned.

"Where were you?" Zoro asked.

"In the cafeteria beating up some marines," Naruto replied, "c'mon let's get some food." Luffy cheered as he rushed to the café with Zoro slung over his shoulder as he had collapsed from exhaustion and Naruto carrying Coby as he was injured by the gunshot.

**Café**

Everybody was celebrating the return of the crew; they were free from the tyranny of Captain Morgan and by a pair of pirates nonetheless. As thanks they were given a free feast in honour of their victor.

"This is delicious!" Luffy exclaimed as he dug into the food set before him.

"That's some good grog!" Zoro yelled as he finished his meal, "How can you eat more than me, when I haven't eaten anything for nine days?"

"I've stopped asking myself that." Naruto told him as he slurped on his ramen.

"Thanks for patching me up." Coby thanked Rika's mother to which she just smiled as she gave them some more food. The party stopped as the door opened, to reveal the remaining marines from the base.

"Are you three the pirates that took down Captain Morgan?" The marine officer asked.

"Yes." Luffy answered.

"I'm sorry, but as marine officers we must ask to leave the island." At this all of the villagers in the café were in outrage.

"How could you, they are our saviours!" One of them shouted.

"However, we will not be reporting back to marine headquarters," The officer told them. Luffy got up and started leaving, followed by Zoro and then Naruto. But Coby stayed behind. The marine officer raised an eyebrow, "isn't he with you?" Luffy looked back at him.

"Oh him, he's just someone we picked up along the way," Luffy started explaining, Coby silently praying that he wouldn't mention his time with Alvida,"I found him when he was working as a cabin boy for Al-"

"Shut up!" Coby shouted before he socked Luffy in the jaw, leading to a small scuffle between the two.

"I get it, I get it! You two aren't together!" The officer told the two as he broke up the fight, then looked at Coby, "If you aren't with them, what are you here for."

"I-I want to be a marine!" He yelled at the officer.

"Are you sure we should accept him Lieutenant? Pirates have been known to plant spies within marine bases." An officer next to the lieutenant advised.

"No, I believe that this boy is speaking the truth, I see it in his eyes," the lieutenant replied, "you will start as a cabin boy, but if you are up to it you will rise through the ranks. Are you prepared?"

"Of course!" Coby answered. The lieutenant smiled at the young boys potential.

**Docks**

"Your acting sucks." Zoro told Luffy with a smile on his face.

"As long as Coby becomes a marine I'm fine with it." Luffy explained. They were all ready to sail off, and they were just about to when Coby and the rest of the marines at the docks stopped them.

"Thank you for everything! I promise that I will become a good, strong marine!" Coby yelled at them as he gave them a salute, the rest of the marines did so as well. Naruto smirked.

"I never would of thought I'd see marines saluting pirates." Naruto said. Luffy grinned widely.

"Thanks everyone!" He cheered as he spread the sails and started to drift away.

"Men for saluting pirates we will not eat for three days," The lieutenant told his men, "do you think you can handle it?" He asked Coby.

"Yes sir!" He answered with conviction.

"Good." The lieutenant replied.

**That's it. I hoped you liked Chapter 1. Even though this is my first fanfiction don't go easy on me, but also don't hate. Saying that you hate it won't help me, please give me some constructive criticism so that I can improve in later chapters. **

**1. Its Menma's outfit from Road to Ninja with a red shirt on**

**2. Akuma Doroppukira = Demon Drop Killer **

**In terms of fighting ability Naruto and Luffy are relatively equal. Luffy is slightly stronger than Naruto and Naruto is faster than Luffy**

**In this fanfiction, yes, Naruto will have devil fruit ability, and yes, the Kyubi is still sealed within Naruto. Naruto's backstory will be revealed in later chapters, where his attitude comes from.**


	2. Buggy The Clown

**Thanks for all of the support on the first chapter! To those that want to know, I will not be accepting OCs. And as I said in the last chapter, Naruto does have a devil fruit and I will be revealing it around the Syrup Village Arc. I know present to you…Chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or any of the characters; all rights go to Eiichiro Oda**

The Straw Hat crew was, in the simplest of terms, lost. Shortly after their departure from Shells Town their food supply had gone, courtesy of their straw hat-wearing captain. Unfortunately, none of them had any navigational skills, so getting to the next island would be harder than expected. They were lost and hungry, not a good combination.

"I'm so hungry…" Luffy complained, laying down gazing up at the sky.

"That wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't eaten all of our food!" Zoro yelled at Luffy, smacking him over the back of the head. Naruto was in his normal position, leaning against the side of the boat. Trying to ignore his stomach growling at him.

"Look at that bird," Luffy pointed at a pink bird flying in the sky above them, a light bulb went off in Luffy's head, "I think I found something to eat!" He stood up, grabbed the mast and starting walking back, "**Gomu Gomu no…**" He then launched himself off of the boat and headed straight at the bird, "**Rocket!**" Both Naruto and Zoro were happy that Luffy had found something to eat, however it was taking Luffy longer than they thought it would to get back down.

"Luffy! Hurry up and get down here!" Naruto shouted up at Luffy, hoping that he could hear him.

"The bird's bigger than I thought!" Luffy yelled back. After Naruto took a closer look he could see that the bird had Luffy in it's mouth and started to fly away, "Shit! Zoro start rowing!" Zoro immediately got to work, rowing as fast as he could to keep up with the bird, with Naruto keeping an eye on it.

"Help! Help!" They heard some pirates attempting to keep afloat in front of them.

"I can't stop! You guys are gonna have to try and jump on!" Zoro told them as he kept on rowing. The pirates paled at this, the boat was coming at them at a very fast speed. They were barely able to grab a hold of the boat before it crashed into them.

"Now, that that's out of the way." One of the pirates started to speak.

"If you try and steal our boat I will ripe out your throat and shove it up your ass," Naruto told them, already knowing what they would try and do. This scared them sufficiently, turns out they didn't have very strong wills, "Now get to work rowing." Naruto had intimidated them enough to get them to switch with Zoro to row.

"I'm gonna get revenge on that girl that tricked us!" One of the pirates told to the rest of the pirates.

"Stuff that, think about what Captain Buggy will do to us if we come back empty handed." All three of the pirates shuddered as they thought of what their captain would do to them. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Who's Buggy?" Zoro asked them to which they snorted.

"How do you not know the infamous Captain Buggy?"

"Stop being a smartass and answer the question," Naruto told them, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm the type of person that goes through with their threats." The pirates gulped.

"Captain Buggy is one of the top dogs of the East Blue with a bounty of 15,000,000 beli." The pirates explained.

'_Interesting, I get to see what the top dogs of this sea is worth in a fight_.' Naruto thought to himself, eagerly waiting to fight this 'Captain' Buggy.

**With Luffy**

"Wow! You really can see a lot from up here!" Luffy exclaimed, still being carried by the bird, "Land!" Luffy could finally see land; he started struggling to get out of the bird's grasp. On the ground, there was a pirate ship docked near the town. The pirates were alerted by Luffy's shouting. One of them grabbed a telescope and looked up and discovered that the bird was carrying someone.

"Captain there's a bird carrying someone over us, what should we do?" The pirate asked his captain who was sitting down on his throne.

"Meh, just shoot it down." He responded casually.

**Somewhere Else In Town**

Nami was running through the town as fast as she could, with three big, strong, angry pirates running after her.

"Give back our map!" They ordered.

"No, I stole it! It's mine!" Nami replied, confusing the pirates with her logic. An explosion in the sky halted the chase for a moment. Then something fell down from the sky and crashed in the middle of the four, creating a lot of dust. When the dust cleared, Nami was surprised, and at the same time relieved, at what she saw. It was one of the pirates who she had given a ride to Shells Town.

"What a landing!" Luffy exclaimed, dusting himself off and putting his straw hat back on his head. Nami took this moment to her advantage.

"Thanks for coming for me boss!" She told him, getting the pirates to direct their anger at him, "I'll let you take care of him!" She then ran off to hide from the pirates.

"Hm? What's Nami doing here?" Luffy asked himself silently.

"So you're her boss eh…" the pirates whispered ominously. The ominous feeling was ruined when one of the pirates threw a punch that hit Luffy square in the jaw. Luffy wasn't worried, he knew that being a rubber man he was invulnerable to physical attacks, but he was worried when he saw his treasure lift off his head and onto the ground due to the force of the attack. That worry turned into anger in a matter of seconds.

"Don't touch my hat!" Luffy yelled as he punched the offending pirate in the gut as hard as he could, sending him flying into the building behind him. He then turned to the two beside him, taking care of them with simple punches to the face. Luffy knocked them all out cold in a matter of seconds.

"Wow! You're tougher than I thought!" Nami proclaimed as she sat on the roof of a nearby house. She watched as he went to pick up his hat.

'_I would ask if he would like to join up with me, but I remember him telling me that he was a pirate. But that kid said never to judge someone like that, he seems pretty nice so I might as well give him something to eat._' Nami thought.

"Hey Luffy, want some food?" Nami asked. Luffy's face lit up at her question.

"Yea!" Luffy answered. Nami jumped down and led Luffy inside the house she was standing on top of, "You live here?"

"No, the owners are out." Nami corrected, Luffy frowned.

"So you're stealing." Luffy told her blatantly.

"Everyone in town is in the shelter, they're practically giving me their valuables." Nami informed Luffy, who still had his frown on, until Nami gave him some food, to which he started chomping down on his fast than an admiral. Nami was slightly disgusted by the speed at which he was eating.

"Ah…" Luffy sighed as he patted his stomach; happy with the meal he had eaten, "why are you here?"

"Buggy had the map of the Grand Line. I've got it now, but Buggy still has a lot of treasure left that I want." Nami explained.

"If you've got a map of the Grand Line you must be good at navigation." Luffy reasoned.

"Yep. There aren't many people that know more about navigation than I do!" She replied.

"Join my crew! Be my navigator!" Luffy told her.

"No way! I'll never become a pirate!" Nami shouted at him.

"C'mom join my crew! It's fun!" Luffy pleaded, trying to convince her to join. Nami was about to yell at him again, but then thought of an idea.

"Okay, if you're so inclined to have me as your navigator I will." Nami lied.

"Yay!" Luffy exclaimed.

"But you have to do this one thing for me." Nami added, with an evil grin on her face.

**Buggy's Crew**

At the centre of the town there was a large party going on the roof of a bar. The pirates were eating, drinking, getting drunk. However, this all stopped when three pirates came up to the obvious leader that was sitting on a throne. The man donned a striped short sleeved white and red shirt, white gloves, a green sash around his waist, striped socks and pointy shoes, a scarf around his neck and hanging from his shoulders was an orange, fur-lined captain's coat. On his head was an orange hat that had his jolly roger on it and light green pants. He had a make-up all over his face, and the most ridiculous thing of his attire was his bright red nose.

"C-c-captain, we w-were g-g-gaining on her, b-but then t-this straw hat k-k-kid fell f-from the s-s-sky and p-protected the girl." One of the pirates explained.

"So, you're saying that a kid, who fell out of the sky, beat you guys up and protected the girl." The captain replied.

"Y-yes." Another pirate answered.

"Mohji," he said, getting attention from the man on his left, "kill these fools." Mohji nodded as he started walking to the pirates.

"Buggy!" They stopped as they turned towards the origin of the sound. It was Nami who had Luffy tied up in a rope and the map in her hand.

"C-captain! That's the girl a-and the kid!" One of the pirates informed the now identified Buggy.

"Buggy! I want to join your crew!" Nami proclaimed, surprising everyone, "I'm sick of working for an idiot!" She then threw Luffy on the ground in front of Buggy and then handed Buggy the map. The clown looked at Luffy for a moment, then turned to Nami.

"Everyone! Celebrate our new crew member Nami!" At his words everyone continued partying, except for Luffy who was locked up in a steel cage, attempting to bite his way out of it.

"How's it going boss?" Nami asked, slightly amused at the predicament Luffy was in.

"You're a mean girl, I'd never let you join my crew," Luffy pouted, "Can you at least get me some food," Nami sighed and handed him some of her food, "I guess I was wrong, you can join my crew."

"I won't join you're crew you baka!" Nami shouted at her former 'boss', "More importantly, don't you see the situation your in. You're likely to be sold by these pirates."

"I'll beat them up if they try that!" Luffy proclaimed. Nami giggled quietly at his confidence.

"Don't worry, if my plan works smoothly, I'll unlock this cage and you can run away."

"Open it now then." Luffy replied rudely. Nami was about to reply when she noticed Buggy next to her.

"Gyahahahaha! You've got yourself a pretty good follower! Thief Boss!" Buggy laughed while holding a large glass of rum.

"What're you talking about?" Luffy asked, confused as to what the clown was talking about.

"Yes, yes. Many people would try and lie out of a situation like this. Especially when they've just been betrayed," Buggy taunted, crouching down so that they were both at eye level, "even though I got my map back, it is still a terrible crime to steal from a man such as I. Your fate has been decided."

"You're gonna let me go?" Luffy asked.

"Baka!" Buggy shouted, as he stood up and made a pose, "Men! Prepare the 'Buggy Ball!" The whole crew turned into a frenzy of drunken hysteria.

"The 'Buggy Ball' is ready captain!" A random crewmember said as he put the cannonball into the cannon.

"Alright! Show them! Show them its power!" Buggy yelled in anticipation of what was to come. The cannon ball was released from the cannon, destroying everything in its path. It had crushed around a quarter of the town. Nami and Luffy both gaped at the power of the cannonball.

"A-all of those houses." Nami said to herself.

"Gyahahaha! The power is so great; it can wipe out the whole village in a matter of seconds! This and the powers I gained from the Akuma no Mi guarantee my success on the Grand Line!" Buggy boasted, "Now Nami! Shoot the cannon. Prove your loyalty and sincerity by killing your old boss, once and for all!" Luffy looked on passively.

"K-kill him…? M-me?" Nami asked, sweating madly, "I-I don't think that's necessary…m-more importantly…ah! Yes! D-drink! L-let's drink and party. Let's ignore him!" Nami tried to convince him to continue their party.

"Kill him." Buggy told the burglar, leaving no room for discussion. All of the crew started shouting, cheering for Nami to kill the straw hat-wearing boy.

"Shoot!" Many of them cheered.

"C'mon Nami! Kill him in one go!" Buggy yelled. Luffy continued to look on passively.

'_Crap! I didn't think something like this would happen. If I don't shoot then I'll die for sure. Even though Luffy is a pirate. But if I do shoot then there's no difference between me and those rotten pirates._' Nami thought.

"Nami! Stop spoiling the fun! Hurry up and light the cannon!" Buggy commanded. Nami started shaking all over, Luffy noticed it.

"Your hand is shaking," Luffy said; quiet enough for only Nami to hear, "there's a strong oath that all true pirate has sworn to, you lack the strength of that oath."

"A strong oath? I wonder what that is…is it to kill innocent people like insects. Is that the pirates oath?" Nami asked, still shaking and sweating.

"No," Luffy grinned madly, "it's being strong enough to risk your life!" Nami stared at Luffy for a while, amazed that he could be grinning at a time like this.

"Oi, new kid, stop wasting time, let me do it." A pirate came up to Nami and took the match. As he went to light the match, Nami pulled out three sticks from a strap on her thigh, connected them together to form a staff and slammed it against the pirate.

'_Dammit! What've I done!_' Nami screamed at herself internally.

"Nami! What the hell do you think you're doing! I gave you the honour of lighting the fuse and this is how you repay me!" Buggy yelled, outraged at Nami's actions.

"Oh! You're saving me now?" Luffy asked.

"Shut up baka! I did it cause I didn't want to become anything like an evil pirate! Like I said before, pirates took the life of someone precious to me! I hate pirates more than anything!" Nami exclaimed.

"Ahh…now I remember," Luffy recalled Nami and Naruto's conversation on the boat. Then he noticed the fuse of the cannon burning, "Ah! I'm can't die here!" He started desperately biting the bars of the cage.

"You bitch! Kill her, painfully!" Buggy ordered his crew, barely able to contain his rage. Members of the crew ran at Nami, brandishing their knives.

"Someone put out the fuse!" Luffy yelled, continuing to try and bite his way out of the cage. Nami swung her staff at the men. But they were more acrobatically capable than she thought and were able to jump above her attack.

"Missed us!" They taunted. Nami ran away from the men to the cannon and held the fuse in her hand in an attempt to put out the fuse, burning her in the process.

"Ack!" Nami grimaced in pain.

"Behind you!" four of the crewmembers shouted as they jumped at Nami from behind. Nami was preparing her body for the attack, but she was surprised when none of the attacks met. She turned around, still holding the fuse. She gasped when she saw the attackers were lying on the ground with a kunai in all of their heads, they were dead.

"How…?" Nami asked to seemingly no one.

"Because of me." A voice said behind her. Nami turned around quickly to be met with the face of Naruto. He was crouching down on the cannon.

"Naruto!" Luffy yelled with joy, "Where's Zoro?"

"Right here." Zoro said as he walked up the stairs to the roof, "Naruto rushed off, saying something about fighting one of the top dogs of the East Blue."

"Zoro?" Members of the Buggy Pirates started talking amongst themselves.

"Nami are you alright?" Naruto asked, keeping his eyes on Buggy.

"Y-yea, I'm…I'm okay." Nami said, astounded that a kid was able to kill four men in seconds.

"Thank god you were able to find this place! Now can you get me out?" Luffy asked Zoro, at this he seemed to get angry. Zoro marched over to the cage.

"Baka! Is this your idea of fun!?" Zoro shouted, getting up in Luffy's face, "You get caught by a bird, fly away and now I find you in a cage!" Luffy just laughed at him.

"H-hey, that guy…Z-Zoro. D-did he j-just say Z-Zoro?" A pirate asked.

"T-That's the P-pirate Hunter Z-Zoro! W-why is he talking w-with the thief?" Another asked.

"L-look at the k-kid! H-he just k-killed them in the b-blink of an eye!" Another exclaimed.

"You're definitely Zoro. Have you come here for my head?" Buggy said as he walked towards him.

"No, I don't have any interest in that. But he does." Zoro pointed to Naruto, Buggy raised his eyebrow.

"I didn't think that they let kids become bounty hunters." Buggy said.

"I'm not a bounty hunter." Naruto told Buggy as he jumped down from the cannon and started walking to Buggy, an evil grin growing on his face.

"Then why do you want to take my head?" Buggy asked, genuinely confused.

"To see where I stand in the East Blue." Naruto answered. Buggy was about to retort, but he wasn't fast enough as Naruto rushed at him and slashed him across the torso, head and left leg. The remains of Buggy fell to the floor.

"Huh!? That guy's so weak!" Luffy exclaimed, not believing someone so weak was holding him captive.

"Jeez, that was easy." Zoro commented. Naruto however was not falling for Buggy's trick. He noticed the crew starting to laugh.

'_The crew's laughing. That's…not the usual reaction they have, this must happen a lot. And on top of that there's no blood coming out of Buggy._' Naruto thought.

"Hey Zoro! Get me outta here!" Luffy yelled, wanting to get out of the cage as soon as he could.

"Okay," Zoro answered. He swung his sword as hard as he could, but to no avail, "These bar's won't break! This thing won't open without a key!" Zoro told his captain.

"Hahahaha!" The crew started crying because of how much they were laughing.

"What the hell's so funny!? Just give us the key! I don't wanna have to fight all of you!" Zoro shouted at them, annoyed at how much they were laughing. While Zoro was shouting, Naruto was looking at the remains of Buggy, like an eagle, looking for any subtle movements. The hand that still had a knife in it twitched and started floating. Naruto noticed this and stomped down on it as hard as he could.

"Aiyah!" Buggy screamed in pain. It was at this point that all of the laughter ceased.

"What the hell?" Zoro said.

"So he's not dead." Luffy commented.

"Get up Buggy." Naruto commanded, stepping back. The different sections of Buggy started floating and then connected together.

"Bara Bara no Mi," Buggy stated, to which Naruto raised an eyebrow, "That's the name of the Akuma no Mi I ate! No matter how much you slice me up I'll still come together again! With this power I will take the Grand Line by storm!"

"Akuma no Mi! I thought those were just myths!" Nami yelled.

"Jeez, that guy's a monster!" Luffy exclaimed.

"That's a bit hypocritical." Zoro replied.

"Hippo-what-ical?" Luffy was confused by the word.

"Nevermind." Zoro dismissed.

"So I can't slice you eh?" Naruto muttered, Buggy kept his smug look on his face, "So what? That's not gonna make a difference." He said as he threw one of his kunai straight for Buggy's neck.

"**Bara Bara Kinkyu Dasshutsu!**" Buggy yelled out his attack as he detached his head from the rest off his body, allowing the kunai to fly right past him, "I already told you baka! Knives don't work on me!" Naruto smirked.

"You're wrong," Naruto told him, figuring out Buggy's weakness, "it's true that I can't slice you, as when I tried your body automatically separated itself. However, when I threw that kunai at you, you had to make a conscious effort to dodge it. Slicing attacks don't work on you, but thrusting attacks do."

'_Shit! How did he figure out my weakness! In just two attacks!_' Buggy thought to himself as he attempted to keep his smug façade.

"Ha! You can't beat him! Big nose!" Luffy yelled, happy that his first mate was able to find a clear way to beat him. The second he finished speaking; the atmosphere became so tense you could cut through.

"D-d-did he j-just call c-captain…" Even the crewmembers were scared at the moment.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?" Buggy shouted at the top of his face. He then threw his fist holding a knife straight at Luffy. It went to fast both Naruto and Zoro to stop. It went straight at Luffy's mouth.

"Luffy!" Naruto and Zoro shouted, hoping that Luffy was alright. Luffy looked straight at Buggy, he had caught the blade in his mouth.'

"You can't beat us! We'll take you down!" Luffy proclaimed. To this Buggy laughed hysterically.

"Gyahahahaha! You're gonna take me down!? You're hilarious! All four of you are gonna die right here, on the spot!" Buggy laughed, his crew following suit, "How are you going to take me down straw hat!?"

"Run away! Naruto! Zoro!" Luffy told them, not as a friend, but as the captain. Both glanced at Luffy for a second, before they were able to understand the underlying message and nodded. Nami however, wasn't able to understand it.

'_God! Pirates are so hard to understand! I better think of a way to get out of here myself!_' Nami thought.

"You think I'm gonna let you go! **Bara Bara Ho!**" Buggy shouted as he launched both fists holding knives at Zoro, who Buggy had wanted kill from the beginning. However before they met Zoro, Naruto got in-between him and the fists and fought them off. Zoro kept running…towards the cannon. He got underneath it and flipped it over.

"Khaaa! It's pointed at us!" The pirates were all in a frightened state.

"Aaaahck! That still has a 'Buggy Ball' in it!" Buggy screamed in panic.

"Oi! I need a light!" Zoro told Nami, who happened to have one.

"Stop it!" Buggy yelled, when he realised they wouldn't stop he shouted, "DUCK!" The 'Buggy Ball' went off on the roof, causing a large explosion.

"This…is a good time to go, who are you anyway?" Zoro asked Nami.

"This is Nami! Our navigator!" Luffy introduced Nami for her. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't you say you hated pirates?" Naruto asked. Nami was slightly annoyed.

"You baka! You're still on about that! If you've got time to say things like that then try and figure out a way to get out of that cage!" Nami yelled.

"That's a good idea! I'll do that!" Luffy exclaimed.

"No, it's okay," Zoro told him, "you just stay in that cage." Zoro put his hands around the bars and mustered up enough strength to lift up the cage.

"Yea Zoro!" Luffy cheered from within the cage.

"Dammit! I'm not gonna let them escape!" Buggy shouted from within the dust the explosion accumulated.

'_Why he is doing these things? Their just pirates._' Nami thought to herself. They then ran away as fast as they could, well not for Naruto as he had to stay back with Zoro to see if he needed help. Just in time to, as the dust cleared away, showing that Buggy and some of his crew survived the cannonball.

"Where'd they go!?" Buggy stared at the empty space that previously occupied the Straw Hat crew.

"They've gone captain!" A crewmember informed.

"Zoro! Nami! That kid! Even the cage! They're all gone!" Another pointed out.

"No way! That cage took five people to drag up here!" No one could believe that they ran away like that.

"Crap! It's been stolen!" Another member said.

"What's been stolen!?" Buggy demanded, not in the mood for more failure.

"The key to the cage, it's gone!" The same crewmember said.

"Those impudent fools! How dare they steal from me!" Buggy shouted in outrage, "Who am I!?" He asked his crew.

"The pirate 'Buggy the Clown', captain!" They answered immediately.

"That's right! I know they aren't common thieves! Men! We are now at war!" Buggy exclaimed, "Mohji!" A man whose hair that made him look like a teddy bear wearing blue pants and a yellow sash around his waist and white fur on his chest, while riding a giant lion came up to Buggy.

"You called, Captain Buggy." The man, now known as Mohji, stated. He had an air of superiority around him, and the cheers he was getting from the crew were filling his ego.

"Yes. I want you to kill the four fools who stole from us." Buggy ordered his vice-captain.

"May I have the honour of taking Roronoa Zoro's head?" Mohji asked.

"Do whatever you want." Buggy answered.

**Elsewhere In Town**

"We're pretty far from the bar now." Naruto told all of them.

"They won't be able to catch up with us soon." Zoro said as he continued to drag the cage, "Our escape was done well, but this cage is really starting to annoy me!"

"Yea. If this thing doesn't open up, I won't get to fight big nose!" Luffy replied. Zoro collapsed from exhaustion.

"This is it…I can't walk any longer." Zoro said to his captain.

"What's up with that dog?" Naruto asked. Zoro and Luffy turned their head and saw that they were right next to a white dog. Zoro moved to lean against a column supporting the house they were next to.

"Are you sure it's a dog? It's not moving." Luffy asked.

"Whatever, right now you've gotta think of a way to get out of that cage." Zoro told Luffy.

"I wonder if it's dead," Luffy wondered as he poked it, it responded by biting Luffy's face, "Ack!" This caused a small rumble between him and the dog, "Stupid dog! What the hell d'you think you're doing!?"

"Hahaha!" Naruto laughed at the fact that even during serious situations, Luffy was still able to get into the funniest situations.

"What on earth are you guys doing in the middle of the street, Buggy will find you for sure." Nami said as she caught up with the three.

"Hey, our navigator." Naruto greeted Nami, purposely trying to annoy her.

"Don't even think about it," Nami replied, trying to contain her anger, "I just came to repay my debt to you because you saved my life back there."

"Repay?" Luffy asked, Nami responded by throwing a key down, "The key! You stole the key!"

"Yea…even I thought it was stupid to get it." Nami said in hindsight.

"Yes! I thought I was gonna die from the headache it was giving me!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Phew…seems like the dangerous escape is paying off." Zoro said, happy that his efforts payed off. Their happy mood was cut off when the dog picked up the key and ate it. Naruto facepalmed.

"You stupid dog!" Luffy shouted as he started shaking the dog from the neck, "Spit it out! That's not food!"

"Get your hands off Chouchou!" The crew turned to see an elderly looking man wearing a yellow lined shirt and dark green shorts. He had brown armor chest-plate with gauntlets and shin guards. He had grey hair.

"Who're you?" Naruto asked.

"I'm this villages mayor, Boodle!" Boodle introduced himself.

"Okay." Luffy replied simply.

"What are you doing to Chouchou!?" He asked, his rage was clear.

"The stupid dog ate the key to this cage!" Luffy explained.

"I see…hey Chouchou's not stupid!" He replied.

"Why's the dog even here? Shouldn't he be back at the shelter?" Nami asked.

"He's guarding the store, I just came to give him some food." Boodle answered.

"Hey…ossan…before we keep talking is there anywhere I can sleep?" Zoro asked.

"Yes, right over there." Boodle pointed at a house on his right. Zoro attempted to get up but was too tired.

"I got ya." Naruto told him as he heaved him over his shoulder and carried him into the house.

"Why is he guarding this place anyway?" Luffy asked.

"The owner of this place was a friend of mine, ten years ago he opened this store with Chouchou. This precious store is filled with cherished memories for the two. I wished they could experience those memories. But just look at those wounds, they're definitely from fighting those pirates and protecting the store." Boodle explained.

"What kind of person leaves their dog to guard a store, especially when pirates are the enemy. The owner is at the shelter with the other people right?" Nami was disgusted that someone would leave their dog like that.

"No…the owner passed away some time ago." Boodle corrected.

"Couldn't the dog be-" Nami started.

"Waiting for its master?" Boodle finished her sentence, "That's what everyone else thinks. But I think its something else. Chouchou's a smart dog, he knows that his owner has passed away."

"Then why does it still guard the store?" Nami asked.

"This store is Chouchou's treasure. He loved his owner so much, and since this is the only thing he has left of him I think he'll continue to guard it. I've tried to take him to the shelter a few time, but he won't leave this place." Boodle explained. Nami smiled at the dog's courage. It was at this point when Naruto exited the house.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Naruto asked. Before Nami could answer they all heard a loud roar.

"Wh-what is that?" Nami asked her fright was clear.

"Th-that guy! Th-the b-beast trainer Mohji!" Boodle exclaimed.

"I hope he's strong." Naruto said as he slowly grew an evil grin.

"See? Now something's coming. Give me the key you…thing." Luffy said to the dog. Nami and the mayor ran away as fast as they could, while Naruto jumped on top of the pet store.

"Well, I found one guy…" Mohji stated as he and his lion stood proudly in front of Luffy, "I'm a member of Buggy's crew. Hohohoho. It seems that the people you were with have ditched you. So sad, and you tried so hard to escape, "Mohji and his lion stalked up to Luffy, "Captain Buggy's pretty mad at you, you committed a serious crime."

"What the hell are you supposed to be? Wearing a fur cap like that." Luffy wasn't paying any attention to Mohji's threats; instead he was focusing on his fur.

"Baka! Watch what your saying! This is my hair!" Mohji defended his hair.

"That just makes it weirder." Luffy said plainly.

"Sh-shut up! You're in a cage, so you don't fully understand how scary I am," Mohji reasoned, "there's no animal in the world that I cannot tame, including this dog," he pointed right at Chouchou, he jumped off of his lion and held out a hand to the dog, "shake," he commanded, but to no success as Chouchou bit his hand immediately, "you're just some nameless thief." He almost instantly appeared back on top of his lion.

"You just gave up." Luffy told him.

"I have no reason to kill you, just tell me where Roronoa Zoro is." Mohji demanded.

"I don't wanna." Luffy answered.

"Kill him Richie!" Mohji commanded his lion. Richie raised his paw into the air and smashed it down on the cage. Luffy used this as a way to escape the cage. He leapt out and landed on the ground.

"Yahoo! I'm free!" Luffy yelled gleefully. However he didn't have any time to celebrate as Mohji, proving that he had some strength, kicked him into a house.

"That was instantaneous, he talks back to me and that's what he gets. Now I have to go and find Roronoa Zoro, if I kill him I'll get an even better reputation." Mohji explained. Richie growled as he looked at the pet store ahead of him, "goodness Richie, hurry up and finish your meal." The lion started to approach the store. Chouchou stood his ground. Naruto jumped down from the roof and stared right into the lion's eyes.

'_Guess this is a good time to test out my new attack_.' Naruto thought.

"Lion…" Naruto said ominously as his eyes started turning from blue to red and his pupil became slit, like a fox. Richie stared straight into his eyes, "**Akuma no Yoru (1.)**" To everyone else nothing happened. But to Richie his entire world was in chaos. The sky was blood red and there was no sun. The town's houses were on fire, the ground was pitch black and the boy in front of him kept on twitching until a dark red, almost black layer of liquid overcame him. He had clear white eyes and a bloodthirsty grin. He had fox-like ears and four swaying tails behind him** (2.)**.

"Richie?" Mohji didn't know what was going on with him. He was gazing right at the boy, whimpering every so often. Naruto smirked. It had worked perfectly. Naruto then pulled out a kunai and started to run up Richie's left arm, leaving light cuts on his skin. He ran all the way up to Mohji who was already panicking, but just before he cut him, he disappeared in a burst of speed and appeared behind him.

"**Akuma Doroppukira!**" Naruto shouted as he delivered his drop kick to Mohji, sending him all the way down the street, Naruto looked down at Richie, the lion was unconscious; his mind couldn't handle the chaos. Naruto smirked as he lay down on Richie's soft fur, "Your not all bad; your fur's pretty comfy."

**With Luffy**

Luffy pulled himself out of the wreckage unharmed and started to walk in the direction of the pet store, before he was stopped by Boodle and Nami.

"Your still alive!" Boodle exclaimed.

"Can't I be alive?" Luffy asked, not sure what they were worrying about.

"How'd you manage to survive!? You went through a house, but you seem perfectly fine!" Nami asked.

"He didn't kick that hard anyway." Luffy shrugged it off.

"What are you doing here? What's your goal?" Boodle asked.

"My goal is to get me a navigator! And the map of the Grand Line!" Luffy answered, "I'm gonna go see Zoro, that fur cap guy's looking for him."

"Baka! Don't! This time you'll really get eaten!" Boodle warned, but Luffy ignored him and kept walking on. Luffy turned the corner to see Mohji trying to get out of the ground.

"That blonde bastard! I'll show him!" He stated as he climbed out of the ground, he turned and saw Luffy behind him, "Your still alive?"

"I can't die that easily! I'm a rubberman!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Rubberman? I know you have the devil's luck, but I think you may have hit your head to start thinking like that." Mohji wasn't able to accept the fact that there might be someone else in the East Blue with an Akuma no Mi ability.

"Here! I'll show you!" He threw his arms forward while twisting them and gripped Mohji's head.

"H-his arms!" Mohji gasped. Luffy smirked as he untwisted his arms, rapidly spinning Mohji, he then brought his hands down on the ground, at the same time bringing Mohji's head down with it. Luffy smirked and continued walking to the house Zoro was sleeping in. He got to the pet store and saw Naruto, lying on the unconscious lion; both Boodle and Nami were watching him.

"Wow." Boodle said to himself.

"Naruto! Get off the lion!" Nami yelled.

"Nami. If you shout you might wake it up,"Naruto informed Nami, she covered both hands over her mouth to stop her from talking. Naruto then turned to Boodle; "I gathered supplies from the nearby houses and patched up Chouchou to the best of my ability. I'm no doctor, so after we're finished with Buggy your gonna have to give him another check." Nami and Boodle turned to Chouchou, who remained outside the pet store, however now he had bandages wrapped around the previously injured spots.

"Thank you!" Boodle thanked.

"It's alright. He was pretty brave during the fight, you should be proud." Naruto congratulated Chouchou on his bravery. Nami could only stare on.

'_He did all that, just for the dog?_' Nami wondered to herself while she kept looking at Naruto.

**Bar**

"Ah…you've returned Mohji." Buggy said as he heard steps coming up to the roof of the bar. He wasn't expecting to see a battered and bloody Mohji.

"I…I give my sincere apologies Captain Buggy." Mohji apologised weakly, "The…Straw…Hat beat me."

"What!? You were defeated by Straw Hat! Weren't you fighting Zoro!" Buggy yelled, unhappy with the failure.

"Yes…I…also…have…underestimate…at…the…guy…the truth is…that guy…is a ru…man." That was all Mohji could say before he fell unconscious.

"What the hell was he trying to say?" The crew started to talk amongst each other.

"Vice-captain Mohji said something."

"What was he trying to say?"

"All I could hear was 'Ru…man'"

"What in the world is 'Ru…man'?"

"Oh, does this mean he attacked so thoughtlessly?" Buggy asked himself, this got the attention of the crew.

"Oi! I think Captain Buggy knows."

"That baka! He's a rough man! It makes me so mad!" Buggy, thinking that he had uncovered what Mohji was trying to say, "Gah! I'm sick to death of this town! Men gather up all of the 'Buggy Balls'! We're gonna destroy this village! It'll all be dust!"

**Pet Store**

Naruto was still lying down on Richie, Luffy was sitting down in the street and Nami and Boodle were standing up. Boodle however was shaking with rage.

"I can't stand it anymore!" Boodle yelled, "It's pathetic! So pathetic! That Chouchou and you youngsters are fighting like this, but the village mayor can only watch as the village gets trampled on by pirates!"

"Wait, Boodle, calm down!" Nami tried to get Boodle to calm down from his outburst.

"To a real man there are some fights that cannot be avoided! Isn't that right Straw Hat!" Boodle shouted at Luffy.

"Damn right!" Luffy cheered.

"Don't encourage him!" Nami bonked Luffy over the head.

"This place has grown into a beautiful village harbour, it's a village made by the old people, and it's a village we made! This village and the villagers are my treasures! What kind of mayor doesn't protect his village! I'm going to fight!" Boodle proclaimed, he started marching for the bar, but didn't make it too far as a massive explosion took out the majority of the houses on his left.

"Ahck!" The force of the explosion threw them away.

"Even my house!" The mayor grimaced.

"Ah! Zoro was sleeping in there!" Naruto yelled as he got off Richie.

"Is he dead? That kid with the haramaki?" Boodle asked.

"Hey Zoro! Are you still alive!?" Luffy asked/yelled. Out of the dust and debris came Zoro.

"Yea…that was a terrible wake-up call though." Zoro answered to their calls.

"Your alive!" Luffy exclaimed, happy that his swordsman was still alive and kicking.

"Jeez, everyone is able to survive these things now…" Nami said to herself.

"It feels like my chest is being scraped out," The mayor clutched his chest as he said it, "Do you think I'll let pirates trample all over this town!? I'll never allow some punk to destroy forty years of hard work! I am the mayor! I won't leave and let the village be treated this way! I'm gonna go fight!" He started running off. Nami was holding on to him though.

"W-wait a minute." Nami tried to get him to stop.

"Get off me kid!" Boodle yelled at her.

"Those people are too dangerous! They'll kill you! It's too dangerous!" Nami tried to convince him to stay.

"I know it's dangerous!" Boodle shouted back, with tears in his eyes, seeing this Nami let go, "You just wait! Buggy the Clown!" He shouted as he ran as fast as he could to the bar.

"The mayor…was crying." Nami told them.

"Really I didn't see anything." Luffy replied. Naruto smirked.

"This is starting to feel a lot more fun." Naruto told the group.

"Shishi! I agree!" Luffy responded with vigour.

"How can you still be laughing!?" Nami yelled.

"Don't worry I like that ossan. I won't let him die." Luffy calmed down Nami.

"Where does your confidence come from?" Nami asked.

"We're going to the Grand Line, if we don't have confidence we won't make it." Naruto told her. Luffy nodded.

"Now we're gonna go take that map of the Grand Line from Buggy and beat him up!" Luffy told them his plan.

"Speaking of that. Naruto how do you plan on beating Buggy?" Zoro asked.

"I'm not gonna fight him." Naruto answered.

"You're not? Before we got here you seemed so excited to fight him." Zoro didn't understand Naruto's reasoning.

"The whole reason that I wanted to fight him was because I wanted to see where I stood against one of the top dogs of the East Blue." Naruto told him.

"I get to fight Buggy!" Luffy shouted before Zoro could say anything, he then turned to Nami, "Will you join us? You need the map, and the treasure." He held out his hand. Nami slapped it away.

"I'm not gonna be a pirate," Nami told him, causing Luffy to pout, "but I do want the treasure and the map, we'll cooperate."

"Yay! I've got a navigator!" Luffy cheered.

"We're just cooperating!" Nami fumed.

"Let's go." Naruto said as he started walking in the direction of the bar.

"What're you gonna be doing during the fight Naruto?" Zoro asked. Naruto shrugged.

"Dunno. I'm not gonna fight anymore grunts, Buggy probably has a swordsman for you to fight. I guess I'll help Nami get the treasure." Naruto answered, Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure? You're gonna have to be pretty stealthy." Nami informed Naruto just smirked back.

"Trust me." Naruto said.

"Are you sure?" Nami asked.

"Don't worry Nami! Naruto's really stealthy, and fast. When we were playing hide and seek as kids we could never find him. Even when he said where he was." Luffy explained.

"Fine." Nami sighed.

**Bar**

"Quick! Prepare the next 'Buggy Ball'!" Buggy ordered, wanting to destroy the village as soon as he could.

"Buggy the Clown! Get down here now and fight me!" Boodle yelled from the ground.

"Hmm? Did you call me?" Buggy asked as he looked down on him.

"I'm the village's mayor! Boodle! Now get down here and fight me!" Boodle shouted.

"Bwahahaha! Fight the captain!?" The crew laughed.

"Do you actually think you can win!?"

"Captain Buggy." Said a tall, slender man with a haircut that covered half of his face. He had a large blue and white scarf that covered the lower portion of his face, a sleeveless purple coat that went down to his knees; he wore white pants and white shoes. He wore a light blue sash on his waist. He was currently on a unicycle.

"What is it Cabaji?" Buggy asked the man known as Cabaji.

"Leave the small fish to me." He said as he drew a sword from his throat.

"Ohhh! It's Cabaji's acrobat show!" The crew got excited. He jumped through the air, whilst on the unicycle and landed in front of Boodle.

"Because I feel like my skills are beginning to rust." He said whilst spinning a top on the tip of his sword.

"Baka, it was me who he called for, let me handle it." Buggy said.

"Ah…I wanted to see Cabaji's acrobat show." The crew pouted.

"Hey, why are you challenging me?" Buggy asked, "Do want fame?"

"No! It's because I want to protect the village and its people! This is my treasure!" Boodle answered.

"Gyahahaha! What a baka! The word 'treasure' means gold, silver, and jewels! The village is your treasure! Gyahahaha!" Buggy laughed at the old man's ideals.

"Shut up and fight me down here!" Boodle yelled.

"Go down there? Nah." Buggy said as he launched his fist forward and started choking Boodle.

"M-monster!" Boodle wheezed out. He then started punching Buggy's fist, damaging his neck in the process.

"Ack! Why are you hurting your own neck!?" Buggy shouted, "How dare you do this! Let me tell you who I am! I am Buggy the Clown! And soon the Grand Line will be within reach! I'll have all the treasure in the world! I suppose that since this town is your treasure you would be honoured to become dust with it." Buggy got a cannon and set it up facing Boodle.

"What the hell bastard! Fight me!" Boodle yelled.

"Whatever…blow him apart!" Buggy commanded his crew. Buggy tried to get his hand to come back, but it wasn't working, He looked down and fumed at what he saw, "Straw Hat!" Buggy yelled. Luffy was holding Boodle and Buggy's hand.

"I've kept my promise. I'm gonna beat you." Luffy said as he released Buggy's hand.

"So you've come without fear and on your own will…you're all fools!" Buggy shouted as he looked down on the four.

"Naruto let's get going." Nami told Naruto, Naruto nodded and picked up Nami, put her over his shoulder and ran as fast as he could behind the bar.

"W-why are you here!? This is my fight! Don't interfere!" Boodle yelled, he was about to get up again but Luffy pushed his head into a nearby house.

"Huh?" Buggy gaped.

"Why'd you do that?" Zoro asked.

"Cause he would just get in the way." Luffy replied.

"Smart thinking, if we had left him alone he would of undoubtedly charged in, it's safer for him like this." Zoro said as he undid his bandanna and placed it over his head. Luffy nodded and turned to Buggy.

"Hey! Big Nose!" Luffy shouted.

"AH! FIRE THE 'BUGGY BALL'!" Buggy shouted with uncontrollable rage. The crew lit the fuse and let off the cannon, it soared through the air directly towards Luffy.

"Oi Luffy! Dodge it!" Zoro yelled.

"Do you think that just cause it's a cannonball I'll move a single inch?" Luffy asked as it came closer towards him, "**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy started to suck in air, "**Fusen!**" The cannonball connected with Luffy but instead of exploding, it bounced back at Buggy.

"You could've said something sooner." Zoro sighed as the bar exploded, "Aren't Nami and Naruto behind there?"

"Don't worry, Naruto's fast he probably got out of the way." Luffy said. The dust cleared to reveal Buggy holding up two of his crewmembers and Cabaji holding up Mohji.

"This is the biggest humiliation we've received under our flag captain." Cabaji said.

"I'm so mad words fail me," Buggy replied, "also next time try not to use Mohji, try and use someone…more expendable." Cabaji nodded. Mohji twitched and opened one of his eyes.

"C-captain…straw…rubberman…" Mohji muttered out. Buggy took notice of this.

"Rubberman?" Buggy asked.

"Yea, wanna see?" Luffy pulled both cheeks as far as he could.

"So that's how he was able to deflect the 'Buggy Ball'," Buggy reasoned, he then took a hold of Mohji and threw him at Luffy, "if you knew this why didn't you tell me before!"

"Get out of the way!" Luffy shouted as he gave Mohji a crescent kick into the house beside them, "The fight's begun!" They heard a unicycle coming at them from behind.

"Buggy's Pirate Fleet's Commander 'Cabaji the Acrobat'! I will avenge the pain you've caused the crew." Cabaji proclaimed as he thrusted his sword at Luffy, only to be blocked by Zoro.

"If it's swords I'm all for it." Zoro said.

"Roronoa Zoro, as a swordsman it's an honour to fight you," Cabaji told him. Cabaji took notice that they were currently stuck; Cabaji used that to his advantage, "**Kyokugi! Kaji Oyaji!**" He pulled down his scarf and blew fire onto Zoro's face.

"Ack!" Zoro grunted in pain as Cabaji followed up with a sidekick to the torso. Zoro stumbled back a few steps.

'_Shit! I can't let him have the advantage!_' Zoro thought to himself. Cabaji stuck his sword into the ground and then started to spin it, accumulating a lot of dust.

"**Kyokugi! Yukemuri Satsujin Jiken!**" Cabaji shouted.

"Some trick, it's just a cloud of dust." Zoro said to himself. Suddenly Cabaji came from the dust at an alarming rate. Zoro brought his swords up just in time to block his strike. Zoro saw that Cabaji was going for another kick to the torso. He was able to block the strike with his own leg and roll out of the cloud of dust.

"Come on Roronoa Zoro, I thought you would be more difficult!" Cabaji in a smug manner, "Even though you are the famed 'Pirate Hunter' making enemies with the Buggy Pirates was a massive mistake." Luffy watched on with a stone-face. Cabaji reeled back his sword, "Die! Roronoa Zoro!" Just before he was able to stab Zoro, he got up and smacked him across the face, causing him to fall off his unicycle.

"How annoying, do you like all of those tricks?" Zoro asked, "Lemme help you." He then did something no one thought he would do, he cut himself in the area that Cabaji kicked before, causing his blood to spill all over the ground.

"Aiyah!" Luffy yelled, not understanding what Zoro was doing.

"Is my condition satisfying you now? Let me teach you the difference in our levels." Zoro told him.

"Waah! So cool!" Luffy cheered.

"You fool." Cabaji stated, keeping his smug look on his face.

"Anyone that calls themselves a swordsman, I refuse to lose to them!" Zoro exclaimed, putting a sword in his mouth.

"You've got a strong determination. But with such a serious wound, how do you expect to beat me?" Cabaji asked.

"Don't worry, this type of injury can't stop me from beating the likes of you." Zoro told him.

"A-asshole," Cabaji muttered, "here! Taste my best trick!" He pulled out spinning tops and started spinning them on his arm, "**Kyokugi! Kamikaze Hyakkoma Gekijō!**" Cabaji threw all of his spinning tops, including the ones hidden beneath his clothing at Zoro, he then ran to a house beside him, "**Kyokugi! Yama Noboro!**" He then started started going up the side of the house on his unicycle. Zoro deflected all of the spinning tops easily.

"If that's your best, then you really need some work." Zoro taunted. Cabaji jumped off the house, high in the air.

"**Kyokugi! Nōryō Uchiage Hanabi!**" Cabaji shouted as he got high in the air and positioned himself in a stabbing position, "**Ichirin Zashi!" **He started to descend on Zoro then they heard Buggy yell.

"**Chi wo Hau Bara Bara Ho!**" Buggy's fist flew and travelled the ground to Zoro's feet, "Cabaji! I'll hold Zoro in place so you can end him!"

"Yes captain!" Cabaji yelled.

"Bastard!" Zoro shouted. Just before he was able to reach Zoro, Luffy stomped on the hand.

"Gaaaaahh!" Buggy screamed in pain.

"Don't interfere with Zoro's fight." Luffy said with a grin on his face, Zoro smirked.

"Even without the captain's help finishing you off will be a piece of cake!" Cabaji proclaimed. Zoro quickly dodged Cabaji's strike.

"Stop now…I'm tired." Zoro said as he got up.

"You're tired! Hahahahaha! You've finally given up!" Cabaji taunted, to which Zoro kicked him off his unicycle onto the ground.

"I meant I'm tired of being the opponent of someone who has such pitiful skills." Zoro corrected him in the most intimidating way possible.

"Then let me finish you off now, with my real sword skills!" Cabaji shouted as he got back on the unicycle.

"**Oni…**" Zoro said as he put one of his swords in his mouth and his arms across his chest, pointing his swords up.

"Die!" Cabaji raced forward.

"**Giri!**" Zoro appeared behind Cabaji, who now had three deep cuts on him.

"Cabaji!" Buggy shouted.

"The worlds best pirate commander…taken down by a common thief." Cabaji said as he fell to the ground.

"We aren't common thieves, we're pirates," Zoro said as he too fell to the ground. Not because of the damage Cabaji caused him, it was because of the blood loss he had sustained from cutting himself, "Luffy, I'm gonna take a nap."

"Yea you sleep. I'm gonna finish this off." Luffy told with while flexing his bicep.

**With Nami and Naruto**

Naruto and Nami were standing on the rubble of the bar. Naruto had been able to get Nami and take get her out of the blast radius just in time.

"So where's the treasure?" Naruto asked.

"Probably in the warehouse," Nami said, pointing to the warehouse south of the bar. Naruto picked Nami up and put her over his should again and jumped onto the roof of the warehouse, "can you stop doing that!?" Nami yelled.

"Stop doing what? Running or picking you up?" Naruto asked as he set her down.

"Both." Nami told him.

"C'mon. If I don't pick you up then I can't run. And carrying you in like that makes it easier for me." Naruto explained.

"Just don't do it!" Nami yelled back.

"Hey what's that?" They heard a voice say from below them. They both got down immediately; Naruto crawled forward and saw two people guarding the warehouse armed with swords looking up in their direction.

"Great now you've alerted the guards," Naruto sighed, "don't worry, I'll take care of them." Naruto dropped down to face the guards.

"What're you doing kid?" They asked.

"I'd like to join Buggy's pirate crew." Naruto lied.

"You're gonna have to go see the captain, but I think he's busy with Straw Hat guy and Zoro." They answered.

"Thank you." Naruto turned around and then back flipped over the two men and then stabbed them in the neck, while covering their mouth to keep them from making noise. He signalled for Nami to come down. She jumped down.

"That was…professional," Nami stated, "you must've done that before."

"Yea. I have," Naruto replied simply as he walked into the warehouse, "look I don't like talking about my past so can we not talk about it." Nami nodded, she didn't like talking about her past either. There was no one in the warehouse so they were able to steal the gold without any trouble. Once they had gathered up all the gold and put them into separate bags they noticed something.

"Hey! The Grand Line map isn't here!" Nami exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked.

"Yes I'm sure!" Nami responded.

"Well, hopefully it's on Buggy." Naruto sighed.

"It better be, or else this would've all been for nothing." Nami replied. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What'd you mean? You still got the treasure you were after." Naruto reminded her. Nami shook her head.

"I know that. It's just that the Grand Line holds much more treasures than the East Blue. With the map I would be able to find much more than this." Nami explained.

"I see," Naruto said, "well, we're done here, do you wanna go see the rest of the fight?"

"No, I'm getting outta here. It doesn't make a difference to me whether or not Luffy wins." Nami told him.

"Luffy's gonna win. Buggy's really weak." Naruto replied as he lifted up a bag of treasure.

"How can you be so sure?" Nami asked.

"I've known him since I was seven Nami, I know for a fact that Luffy is stronger than Buggy." Naruto replied. Nami shrugged.

"Whatever. C'mon, help me carry these bags." Nami told him.

"I've already got one." Naruto told her.

"But you're stronger than me, isn't it the heroes job to help the damsel in distress?" Nami asked him rhetorically.

"It's a knight that does that, plus I don't wanna be a hero." Naruto said as he started to walk out of the warehouse.

"Why not?" Nami asked, the conversation was starting to get interesting.

"Don't get me wrong, I like heroes and I respect them. But when you're a hero you have to take care of all these different people. Sure, I'll do my best to protect you and the rest of the crew, but not people I don't even know. If I see someone bullying someone I'll try and stop it. But if I hear that there's a war going on in another county, I won't go and try and stop it unless there's something I can gain from it." Naruto explained.

"Then why are you here?" Nami asked.

"Well for one Luffy flew away and we had to catch him, but I was able to gain experience." Naruto answered.

"Experience?" Nami questioned.

"Yep. I was able to have an encounter with one of the best in the East Blue. Because of this I know that I'll probably be able to beat any of the other top dogs if they come my way." Naruto replied. However, Nami knew that there was another person in the East Blue that she doubted anyone could beat.

**With Luffy and Buggy**

"You guys are pirates!" Buggy shouted.

"Yea! And the rest of my crew are stealing your Grand Line map!" Luffy informed him.

"So that's your goal…the Grand Line isn't somewhere that nameless pirates such as yourself can traverse. So what do you plan on doing there?" Buggy asked.

"I'm gonna be the Pirate King." Luffy said plainly. Buggy gawked. Unable to believe that someone like him could say something like that.

"Don't fool around! You become the Pirate King! Then I'm a god! The person who'll get his hands on the greatest treasure in the world is me!" Buggy shouted.

"Shut up! I don't wanna hear that! Let's fight!" Luffy yelled back.

"Watch your mouth, gomu gomu, seeing your straw hat reminds of a guy I knew a long time ago. The impudent red-hair." Buggy told Luffy.

"Red-haired!?" Luffy exclaimed, "Do you know Shanks!?"

"I'm not nice enough to tell you any information, even if it's the last thing you'll hear before your death." Buggy scoffed.

"Then I'll force it out!" Luffy proclaimed as he reeled back his fist.

"You'll be dead before you hear it," Buggy told him, "even though you're made of rubber, there are some things that won't bounce off you," he lifted up his left foot, to reveal a blade coming out of the tip, "**Bara Bara Senbei!**" He threw the lower part of his body at Luffy, while spinning and the blades showing. Like a buzz saw. Luffy simply jumped over it, Buggy took advantage of Luffy being in the air and threw several knives at Luffy.

"That ain't gonna work!" He stretched out to grab a pole and pulled him away from danger.

"Oho! You can do things like that! How interesting!" Buggy exclaimed as his lower body came back to him.

"Heh!** Gomu Gomu no Pistol!**" Luffy shouted as he threw his fist forward, straight at Buggy's head. However, the clown was able to sidestep it easily.

"That is quite an interesting ability however," Buggy pulled out a knife, "it's full of weakness'!'" he started to bring the knife down. Luffy was able to grab hold of a windowsill and launched his body forward.

"**Gomu Gomu no Kama!**" Luffy held his arm out aiming for Buggy's neck.

"**Bara Bara Kinkyu Dasshutsu!**" Buggy yelled as he detached his head, letting Luffy fly right past, "You're not much of a threat, gomu gomu."

"Damn, he's separating into different sections." Luffy said to himself.

"**Bara Bara Ho!**" Buggy launched his fist forward with knives in-between his fingers, Luffy caught it by the forearm but Buggy didn't let up, "**Kirihanashi!**" The fist detached from the forearm and flew forward; Luffy turned his head just into for it to only graze him.

"You bastard!" Luffy shouted out.

"You're pissed off that your face got hurt? That's what your gonna have to deal with when you fight." Buggy told him.

"How dare you mess up this hat!" Luffy said as he gripped his straw hat as tightly as he could, "This is my treasure! I'll never forgive anyone who messes up this hat!"

"Is the hat that precious to you?" Buggy asked with an evil smirk on his face as his fist that cut Luffy floated up in the air behind Luffy.

"Yea! You bastard!" Luffy answered. The hand threw a knife at Luffy's head, Luffy dodged easily but it left his hat wide open. The fist soared straight at it, with three more knives in-between its fingers.

"If its that precious to you then protect it properly!" Buggy yelled as the hand stabbed straight through the hat, "Gyahahaha! What kind of treasure is this!?" Luffy started shaking with uncontrollable rage. He rushed towards Buggy who was holding his hat.

"That's the hat that Shanks gave me!" Luffy shouted.

"What? This is Shanks' hat? I thought it looked familiar," Buggy said as he spat on the hat, "me and him used to be on the same ship when we were cabin boys."

"Shanks is a great man! You say you were on the same ship!" Luffy reeled back his fist.

"**Bara Bara Kinkyu Dasshutsu!**" Buggy detached his head as he prepared to dodge his punch. However it was all a feint as Luffy smashed him in the gut with his knee.

"DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE YOURSELF TO SHANKS!" Luffy screamed at the top of his lungs as he sent Buggy flying. Luffy didn't stop there and chased after him. When Buggy fell to the ground, Luffy wasted no time in punching him continuously, "How dare you treat my treasure like that! Shanks being your comrade! Don't you ever say that again!"

"Look I don't know what kind of relationship you two had but I can still speak about him however I want!" Buggy rebelled. To which Luffy punched him even more. After a couple minutes of pounding, Luffy got up and walked over to his hat and placed it back on his head after cleaning it. Buggy struggled to get up, "Throughout my whole life, even to today, there's been no one that has made me more furious than him! He took away an enormous amount of treasure from me! He made me eat the Akuma no Mi. He took away 100 million beli from me! Not only that he took away my ability to swim! It was then that I decided that if I can't get the treasure I want under the sea, I'd get everything above it! And anyone who takes my treasure will die!" Buggy proclaimed as he detached his upper body and started floating in the air, he then saw Nami and Naruto with treasure bags.

"Oh look who it is." Naruto said. Buggy flew straight for them.

"Put my treasure down!" Buggy ordered.

"Shit! He noticed us!" Nami exclaimed.

"You can't fool me!" Buggy said as he continued for them, Naruto just looked at him, prepared to attack him if he got too close.

"Aiyah!" Nami screamed in peril. Buggy got close, but then stopped suddenly and had a ridiculous look on his face. Naruto looked over to Luffy and laughed as hard as he could. Luffy had kicked him right in the family jewels.

"D-damn gomu gomu! How dare he kick my balls!" Buggy yelled in pain.

"Your opponent is still me!" Luffy reminded him, "Oi! Naruto! Take Nami somewhere safer!" Naruto nodded, he picked up Nami's treasure bag as well as his and place Nami over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Nami shouted.

"Sorry." Naruto apologized with a grin on his face as he fled the scene.

"Get back here!" Buggy shouted, "**Bara Bara Festival!" **Buggy yelled as his entire body split into different sections and floated around crazily, following Naruto who was weighed down with all the treasure and Nami.

"Damn it! There should be a limit to this!" Luffy said to himself, but then he noticed his feet were still on the ground, "His feet can't fly?" He asked himself. He reached down for them and caught them.

"Give me back my treasure!" Buggy yelled as he was gaining on them.

"Don't do it Naruto!" Nami ordered him.

"Wasn't planning to." Naruto told her. Luffy pulled out his newly caught foot from its shoe and started tickling it, causing Buggy to laugh hysterically.

"S-Stop!" Buggy shouted in-between laughs. Luffy then slammed the toes into the ground, "Ack! Stop you baka!" He shouted as he turned back to Luffy.

"Buggy," Naruto said to him, Buggy turned around to be met by a kick to the face, "focus!" Buggy was sent back to Luffy who grinned and kicked him into the ground, seemingly knocking him out.

"Thanks." Nami thanked both of them as she was being set back on the ground.

"No problem." Luffy replied.

"Luffy check to see if Buggy has the Grand Line map on him." Naruto told Luffy. Luffy nodded and started to check Buggy.

"Aha!" He yelled as he pulled out a map from Buggy's coat, "I've got it!" They all grinned at the good news.

"C'mon, we have no reason to stick here." Naruto said as he turned around and started walking back to the docks.

"Hold on." Buggy said as he got back up.

"Jeez, you're still alive?" Luffy asked.

"I'll kill you once and for all! Body parts gather!" Buggy shouted, preparing to kill Luffy. However when his body parts came together, he only had his hands and feet, "What!?"

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for these would you?" Nami asked triumphantly as he had his body parts tied up.

"Whoa, your pretty fast." Naruto told her.

"Aiyah! My body parts!" Buggy yelled.

"A thief has got some cool skills! Shishishi!" Luffy laughed as he sent his arms back, "Get lost Buggy!"

"N-no! Stop!" Buggy pleaded as Luffy launched his arms forward.

"**Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!**" Luffy yelled as he slammed his hands into Buggy open-palmed. Sending Buggy flying.

"Nice one." Naruto said as he watched Buggy fly away into the horizon.

"Victory! Now you're gonna become my crew member right?" Luffy asked Nami.

"I'm just cooperating with you! I'll go along with you for now cause it seems like I'll be able to earn a lot from you guys." Nami corrected. Luffy nodded as he rested his hands on his hat and pulled it in front of him, taking a look at the three cuts it sustained from the fight.

"That hat…is it that precious to you?" Nami asked.

"Yea. But it's alright. I feel better now that I've beaten Buggy," he replied as he walked over to Zoro, "oi Zoro! Get up we're going." Zoro got up, still tired.

"Did you finish the fight?" Zoro asked groggily.

"Yea. We also got the map and the treasure." Luffy told him.

"Ah…I don't think I can walk yet." Zoro told them while holding his head.

"I've got ya." Naruto sighed as he lifted Zoro on his shoulder.

"I'll go wake up the mayor." Luffy told them as he went over to the unconscious mayor.

"Hey." They heard someone say behind them, it was a large group of people, "we're the people of this village. Did the pirates start a fight among themselves? If you know anything could you please tell us?"

"I think that there are some more of the pirate crew still here. Other than that there isn't much to tell you." Nami informed them.

"Ah! Mayor!" They all noticed their unconscious mayor and ran to pick him up, "Goodness what happened here? It must've been the work of those pirates!"

"Um…sorry I did that to the mayor." Luffy confessed, getting dark looks from the villagers.

"Why would you say that!?" Nami yelled.

"Cause I did it." Luffy replied simply, unable to lie.

"How dare you do this to the mayor!"

"It doesn't matter what kind of excuse you give us!"

"Who the hell are you!? Are you pirates!?"

"We are pirates." Luffy answered them.

"Hahaha!" Zoro and Naruto laughed at the outcome of the conversation.

"Dammit Luffy why did you say that!?" Nami couldn't believe Luffy,

"Cause it's the truth." Luffy turned to her.

"Get them!" The villagers shouted, starting the chase. The Straw Hat pirates were running away from a bunch of weak villagers, what a sight.

"Why did you say that? You made the situation more complicated." Nami asked.

"This is a good village." Luffy replied simply.

"Huh?" Nami didn't understand.

"For their mayor, for just one reason, they all got mad. No matter what we say they'll still be mad." Luffy told her.

"They're going through the alley!" The villagers shouted as the Straw Hat crew turned into an alley. The villagers were about to go through until Chouchou stopped them.

"Chouchou!?" Nami exclaimed.

"That dog!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Chouchou move out of the way those guys are bad pirates!" The villagers asked.

"Why are you stopping us Chouchou!?"

"Move now!" Chouchou was able to hold off the villagers enough for the crew to get to the docks without being stopped.

"Phew. Thanks to Chouchou we were able to get away, I was almost worried.

"Who cares what they think? We did what we came to do," Luffy said, "Is this your boat? So cool!" Luffy exclaimed as he saw a boat that was much bigger than the boat that he, Naruto and Zoro were traveling in.

"No. I just stole it from a bunch of pirates." Nami replied.

"We've been waiting for you thief!" Some pirates said as they arose from the boat.

"We knew you'd come back if you stayed here."

"I never dreamed we would've seen this boat again in the very same harbour!"

"You can't possible say you've forgotten us!"

"You know them?" Luffy asked.

"Sort of…" Nami replied.

"Sort of? We have a long history! You gotta gang now? Guess I'll have to teach all you all a lesson." He was about to jump off the ship.

"Do you want me to go through with my threat?" Naruto asked. The pirates noticed the blonde boy now.

"Aiyah! N-n-n-n-n-no sir!" They answered.

"Get off the ship and leave." Naruto told them without room for argue. They all ran off crying.

"Jeez. What kind of threat did you give them?" Nami asked.

"Nothing much." Naruto grinned. They all got on their respective ship and set the sail.

"Let's go!" Luffy told them, "Hey that has the Buggy mark on it." Luffy noticed.

"Of course, I took it from Buggy pirates. I'll erase it later." Nami responded. They started to sail away.

"Stop right there!" They turned to see the mayor panting at the edge of the dock, the crew expected him to give them a lecture but instead, "I'm sorry! I owe you!"

"Shishishi! Don't worry! Just live good lives!" Luffy replied happily. After the crew were a few miles away from the island Nami noticed something.

"Hey Naruto where's the rest of the treasure?" Nami asked.

"Luffy told me to leave my bag at the docks." Naruto answered.

"What? You left the treasure behind!?" Nami started taking her anger out on Luffy.

"Yea but since the town was destroyed their gonna need some money to pay for repairs." Luffy explained. Nami started trying to push Luffy into the sea, "D-don't do that! I can't swim! I'll die!"

"That's why I'm doing it! Don't do it again!" Nami commanded.

"You're mean." Luffy pouted.

"Well I guess I won't fix your hat then will I." Nami teased.

"What!? You can fix my hat!" Luffy questioned. Nami nodded, "Please! Please! Please! Please!"

"Maybe I will, Maybe I won't." Nami continued to tease. Luffy kept on pleading.

"Hahahaha!" Naruto laughed at Luffy's misfortune.

'_I wonder how long it is until we get to the next island. I hope I get to fight someone stronger than Buggy!_' Naruto thought to himself. Excited about the next island.

**Wow! That was a long ass chapter! 34 pages! The reason I made it this long was so that I could cover everything in the Orange Town Arc in one chapter, instead of having it span over several chapters. **

**1. Akuma no Yoru = Demon's Night. It's pretty much a genjutsu that causing hallucinations.**

**2. 4 Tails Naruto.**

**I now that a couple of you are probably wondering why I made Zoro's fight Cabaji longer than necessary, or the incident with Mohji longer than necessary. The reason I did that was so that these characters can get the recognition they deserved. I mean they aren't my favourite characters (in fact I don't really like them at all) but they are still pretty good. I also don't like fanfics when Luffy beats Buggy in one or two shots. Buggy was on Gold Rogers ship! I know he's not as strong as Shanks or Rayleigh, but still he must've had some skill to get on the ship. He also has more experience with his devil fruit than Luffy.**

**In terms of pairings I'm unsure. I'm thinking of pairing Luffy with Nami but if I do it'll be on the side. I also want to pair Naruto with someone but the only girl left would be Robin, cause I don't want to add any crewmembers (except for someone I have planned for in the Arabasta. EPIC FORESHADOWING!) and Naruto's gonna be 14 in this fic and Robin's 28! If I try hard enough I might be able to make it happen, but as of yet it isn't gonna happen.**

**Also the reason that I didn't have Naruto fight Buggy was because I don't want all the attention to be directed towards him. I don't want this to be a fic where Naruto is in EVERYTHING. But don't worry he'll be the one to fight Kuro! Anyway thanks for all the support on chapter one! See ya! **


	3. 100 Plans Kuro

**Sorry for the long wait but I now have the information! Due to support of you wonderful reviewers I've decided on what the paring will me. It will be Naruto/Nami! Majority of you requested that. Therefore it shall be. Btw I had already done the story but then I forgot to save…well I can't really blame anyone else for that one. This is annoying. I'm really sorry if this chapter is shorter than normal but I really don't want to have to rewrite all of it (it was roughly 15,000+ words!) so sorry for that. But to make up for it I'm aiming for around 20,000+ words on the next chapter. **

**Thanks for all the support for last chapter, now I present to you Chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, or rights go to Eiichiro Oda**

The Straw Hat Pirates were sailing peacefully across the seas. Luffy was happily holding his straw hat, which had been mended by Nami.

"We need to plan better." Nami stated out of the blue. Luffy raised an eyebrow.

"What'd you mean?" Luffy asked.

"We're going to go to the Grand Line, this boat isn't going to last a day in those seas. We need a better ship, plus you guys don't have any food or water. You really underestimated these seas." Nami informed them.

"We knew that we would have to get a bigger ship, but right now we don't have the finances to get a good quality ship." Naruto told their navigator.

"What're you talking about? Nami still has her money from the town we were at before." Luffy said.

"I know, but she probably won't be giving that up." Naruto replied.

"You know me better than I thought!" Nami smirked.

"Not that hard to figure out." Naruto muttered to himself.

"Anyway, according to the map there should be an island north of here, hopefully we'll be able to get a ship and some supplies there." Nami said. With that the crew go to work on rowing to the island with Nami keeping them on course.

"Wow! You actually got us here!" Luffy exclaimed as stood firmly on the ground.

"Of course, we followed the map. And you also have me as a navigator." Nami replied.

"You think pretty highly of your navigating skills." Naruto commented.

"Do you know anyone better than me?" Nami asked, already knowing the answer.

"Can't say I do." Naruto smirked.

"It feels so good to be on the ground again!" Zoro exclaimed as he stretched out his tired muscles.

"By the way what's up with that guy?" Naruto pointed to a man standing proudly on the top of a cliffside, he had curly black hair, a comically long nose, brown overalls with a white sash, a white and blue striped armband and a yellow satchel.

"I am the 'Great Pirate Captain Usopp!' I'm in charge of the security of this town! You all best turn back now!" The now identified Usopp yelled in an attempt to scare away the pirates.

"This guy is terrible at lying." Naruto commented, Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"How can you tell? I think he could be serious." Zoro told him.

"You better turn back or else you'll have to deal with my 80 million ruthless men!" Usopp shouted.

"I take that back." Zoro told Naruto.

"Shishishi! You're funny!" Luffy laughed at the liar.

"T-take that back!" Usopp shouted at the straw hat-wearing pirate.

"Do you want me to tell you how I know your lying?" Naruto asked.

"H-how?" Usopp asked.

"You just told me." Naruto said with a smirk on his face. Nami giggled at how easy it had been for Naruto to trick the liar.

"Ahh! I've been figured out!" Usopp yelled in peril.

"Look, look. You don't have to worry. We're just here to get a new ship and some stock up on food and water." Nami calmed down Usopp.

"Oh. Okay well if you want you can come to the café with me." Usopp guided them to the village.

**Café**

"Usopp I have a question." Naruto told the liar.

"Go ahead." Usopp said in-between bites of his meal.

"Why did you let us in so quickly? I mean for all you know we could've just lied about being here for a ship." Naruto asked.

"Wh-what!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Relax, relax, we aren't here for that. I'm just asking why you let us in so quickly. You shouldn't accept people so willingly, especially when you're protecting something." Naruto advised.

"That's true." Zoro pointed out.

"Well…pirates are brave warriors of the sea! I can't help but like them," Usopp explained, "I've also got a question for you Naruto."

"Fire away." Naruto accepted.

"How did you see through my lie so easily?" Usopp asked.

"Well, it was a terrible lie, but I was raised in a community that promoted deception and lies. I grew up around lies. I had to learn at a young age to be able see through lies and how to lie. Hell, there was even a school that I grew up around that taught you how to lie." Naruto answered.

"Wait, wait, wait. There's a school that teaches you to lie?" Nami asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yep. It also taught you how to kill and other skills." Naruto replied. Zoro looked over to Luffy and was surprised that he didn't seem the least bit interested by the conversation. Little did he know, Luffy already knew all of this.

"You said you grew up 'around' it. Why didn't you go there?" Nami asked.

"They never let me join…" Naruto replied softly as he looked to the ground, bringing up bad memories of rejection from people that were meant to nurture him to be great.

"So how are you able to do all of these amazing abilities?" Nami asked.

"I guess genetics are a part of it, my Akuma no Mi and…something else." Naruto added the last part silently to himself. But Zoro was able to hear, deciding to talk to him about it later.

"Akuma no Mi! I thought they were just myths!" Usopp exclaimed.

"You never told us you had an Akuma no Mi ability!" Nami told him. Naruto shrugged.

"It never came up. I ate the **Tama Tama no Mi (1.)**. It basically allows me to create a physical manifestation of my energy outside of my body. It can be as big as a small ball of energy, and if I try hard enough I might be able to create a clone of myself. I can also allow my energy to flow throughout my body, making it stronger or more concentrated in a particular area, allowing me to run faster, hit harder, walk on water and walk up vertical surfaces." Naruto explained his ability.

"Walk on water! That's an amazing advantage that you have, especially for an Akuma no Mi user." Nami informed him.

"Yea, yea I know. Let's get back to the topic. Usopp where can we find a ship?" Naruto asked, trying to get back on topic.

"Oh. The only place you can get that is at the mansion not far from town. However the owner is a young girl, who's constantly sick." Usopp informed them.

"Why is she in charge?" Zoro asked.

"Her parents passed away around a year ago due to sickness, after that she shortly fell to illness and has been struggling ever since." Usopp answered.

"Okay, lets go ask for a ship." Naruto said as he started to get up.

"What are you doing? I just told you how sick she is!" Usopp yelled as he gripped his collar.

"Usopp, we need a ship and according to you she is the only one that can give us a ship. Usopp, we need to ask her. Just because she's sick doesn't mean we can't have a request." Naruto said.

**Outside The Café**

Outside the café, three kids were hanging out around the entrance, somewhat tense as if they were ready to charge in at any second.

"Hey Tamenegi did you really see them in here?" A kid asked.

"Of course I did Piiman! I saw the captain lead them in here." Tamenegi replied.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? They're real pirates, they're savages. They've probably eaten him by now." Another kid said.

"Are you for real Ninjin? We, as 'Usopp Pirates', have a responsibility to fight for our captain. This will be the toughest fight that we have ever fought." Piiman told them.

"Charge!" They all yelled as they charged into the café, brandishing their wooden play swords.

"Who're they?" Luffy asked.

"H-Hey, the c-captain isn't here. P-pirates what have you done to captain!?" The kids asked.

"Ahh…what a great meal!" Luffy exclaimed as he patted his belly.

"Wh-what?" The kids murmured. Zoro noted their timidness.

"That's right, your captain…we ate him!" He yelled, intimidating them significantly.

"Onibaba!" The kids shouted and pointed at Nami.

"Hahahaha!" Naruto laughed hard at the kids.

"Why are you pointing at me!?" Nami shouted.

"C-calm down…if your captain is Usopp then he just left, he said 'It's that time again'." Naruto told them as he calmed down from his laughing.

"Oh, he must've gone to the mansion." The kids reasoned.

"Why did he go there?" Luffy asked.

"To tell lies." The kids responded.

"Isn't that a bad thing?" Luffy asked.

"No! He makes up stories to cheer up the sick girl!" The kids defended their captain.

**Mansion**

"So which adventure are you going to tell me today?" Asked a young girl who peeked out the window to Usopp was lying against a branch that reached up to the girl's window.

"Today I'll tell you…about the time when I was five and fought the southern giant gold-fish! The most amazing thing was its poo! It was very long and very wide! I even docked there because I thought it was an island!" Usopp lied, to which the girl giggled to herself.

"What happened to the goldfish?" She asked.

"Well, then I sliced it up and took it to the country of dwarves, to this day they still haven't been able to eat all of it. And because of my bravery they call me-" Usopp stated.

"Captain Usopp." A voice interrupted from inside the girl's room. The girl turned around to see Naruto leaning comfortably against her wall.

"N-Naruto!" Usopp exclaimed. The sick girl started to get worried, she knew that because of her status people would try and steal her precious items and possibly kill her. Naruto picked up on her worry quite easily.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you," Naruto eased her from her worries, "what's your name?"

"K-Kaya." The girl answered. Naruto nodded.

"Are the others here?" Usopp asked.

"They're coming," Naruto replied, "anyway. Usopp your story has inspired me. Can I tell my story?"

"S-sure." Usopp replied. Naruto sat down at the end of Kaya's bed and started to tell his story.

"Thousands of years ago. There was a monster called Shinju, or to the common folk 'Jūbi'." Naruto started.

"Why was it called that?" Kaya asked.

"Because of it's ten destructive tails that swang behind it. Each one of the tails was able to destroy an entire island easily," Naruto answered, taking in both of the people's gaping expressions, "now there's something you should now about the monster. It was stronger than anything you could imagine. Not even the entire marine army and the world government could even hope to fight the monster for more than ten minutes."

"Wow! It must've been strong!" Usopp exclaimed.

"It was," Naruto confirmed, "in fact it was so strong that humans started to fear it, even though Shinju never went out of its way to cause harm to humans. Because of its power, the humans tried to capture it, in an attempt to use its power for their own selfish purposes. Shinju, of course, was against this and defeated all of the attackers easily. The beast forgave them, but after the fifth time he had had enough. Shinju became a monster of destruction; it travelled the globe, destroying every village that it saw. And because of its amazing speed and size, no one knew where or when it would attack. The entire world was engulfed in fear."

"That must've been scary." Kaya commented. Naruto nodded.

"This continued for a number of years. Until a boy was born. This boy was born with abilities that caused people to call him a demon for all of his years. He was born with the ability to control the elements. He knew from the age of twelve that he was the only one who could even hope to defeat the Jūbi. He trained all his life, until he was sure he was ready to fight Shinju. He was around his mid 30s when he decided that he was ready to fight the beast. Their fight carried on for days, weeks even. Neither one of them would let the other gain the upper hand." Naruto explained to them.

"Wow! It must've been a pretty intense fight!" Usopp yelled. Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Their fight continued, until Shinju-" Naruto was about to continue the tale.

"Usopp!" They all turned their heads towards the sound of the voice. The voice came from Luffy, with his crew and the kids behind him.

"Oh, guess I'll have to finish the story some other time." Naruto said, to which Kaya pouted slightly.

"What are you guys doing here!?" Usopp shouted.

"Are they the 'others' you were talking about Usopp?" Kaya asked. Before Usopp was able to respond, Luffy got right to business.

"Ojousama! I have a request!" Luffy exclaimed.

"A request?" Kaya repeated.

"Yeah! We need a ship!" Luffy told her his request.

"Who are you!? What are you doing here!?" Yelled yet another voice. The group turned to see a slim man wearing a black suit with two golden markings and a white dress shirt underneath. He had a black tie and glasses.

"Klahadore?" Kaya whispered.

"Damn, it's the butler!" Usopp gritted his teeth.

"Who's that guy?" Luffy pondered.

"Klahadore, listen these people-" Kaya started.

"You don't have to explain, I'll ask later. Now leave the property immediately!" He demanded.

"But we need a ship." Luffy explained.

"Never," Klahadore stated simply, then turned his eyes to Usopp who was attempted to sneak out, "You…your Usopp-kun."

"Y-y-yes." Usopp replied frightened.

"I've heard some rumours about you from the villagers." The butler stated.

"O-of course! I'm q-quite famous around here!" Usopp shouted, trying his best to keep up a confident façade.

"The guards said that you were lurking around here. What do you want?" He asked.

"T-there was a h-h-huge mole that was s-seen around here. I-I wanted to see it for myself." Usopp lied.

"I've also heard about your father." Klahadore stated, causing Usopp to fall silent, "considering that fact, its not surprising you turned out the way you did. Being the son of a filthy pirate."

"Filthy…" Usopp said, glaring at the butler with uncontrollable rage.

"What do you want from ojousama? Is it money?" Klahadore asked.

"Klahadore! You've done enough!" Kaya shouted, pleading to Klahadore to stop.

"I feel sorry for you," Klahadore ignored Kaya, "you must hate your father. After all, he is a dumb 'treasure hunter' who deserted his family and village."

"Don't you dare say another bad thing about my father!" Usopp shouted violently.

"Why are you so angry? Just make up another one of your lies. Just say that you're really the son of a travelling merchant or something. Or that you and him aren't blood related. Plus, he's probably got a child on every other island." The butler continued to anger Usopp.

"Shut up!" Usopp shouted as he threw his fist into the butler's face. Luffy, Zoro and Naruto sent Usopp approving glances.

"See! So violent! Father, like son!"

"Shut up! I'm proud that my father was a pirate! He was a brave warrior of the sea! You're right that I'm a liar! But I would never lie about something like that! I am the son of a pirate!" Usopp shouted.

"Oh…now I remember." Luffy stated.

"You say that pirates are 'brave warriors of the sea', its only because you have that savage bloodline that you think of them like that," Klahadore started to get back on his feet.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Usopp shouted.

"No matter what your motive is, I will never allow you to be close to ojousama! Being the son of a pirate is more than enough reason to kick you out now!" The butler yelled. Usopp gripped Klahadore's collar.

"Say that again!" Usopp yelled in a threatening tone.

"Please Usopp don't resort to violence!" Kaya pleaded, "Klahadore isn't a bad person…he's just concerned about my safety." Klahadore slapped Usopp's hand away from his body.

"Get the hell out of here. I'll let you off with a warning, but next time if you even think of doing something like this-" The butler began to threaten.

"Shut up." Naruto and Luffy told him at the same time. It was at this time that the butler was able to fully recognise the two. He was also able to recognise Naruto sitting on the same bed as Kaya.

"What are you doing!?" Klahadore shouted.

"I'm leaving," Usopp said. As he started to leave the mansion, "I'll never come back again!"

"Usopp…" Kaya whispered, her eyes started to water.

"Bastard! Captain is a better person than you!" Piiman screamed.

"Yeah! Your mean!" Ninjin added.

"Baka!" Tamanegi shouted.

"Yeah Baka!" Luffy yelled as well.

"Why are you getting involved?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Luffy yelled as he and the kids attempted to rush at him.

"Hey!" Zoro was able to get Luffy into a full nelson hold, while Nami managed to contain the kids from running away.

"All of you get out of here now!" Klahadore shouted, having just about enough of the nonsense.

"Fine," Luffy stated having calmed down, "guys let's go." With his command, the pirate crew walked angrily out of the compound. Except for Naruto, who was gone before Klahadore finished speaking.

**10 Minutes Later**

Kaya was sobbing quietly into her pillow with her knees curled up against her torso. Klahadore came in with a silver platter on his hand.

"Ojousama, I've brought you your lunch." He announced.

"Go away…I don't want lunch, I don't want to eat!" Kaya shouted with as much force as her weak body could muster up.

"Don't say that, the chef spent a long time making this. He even made it so that it would benefit your health." Klahadore sighed.

"Why did you have to say that?" Kaya asked, getting straight to the point of her misery, "I know that I kept it from you, but you didn't have to yell at Usopp and his friends like that." Klahadore set down the platter on a small desk.

"May I sit down?" He asked as he walked over to Kaya's bed. She nodded and he made himself comfortable on the edge of her bed, "I've been working in the house, and for your family for three years now. I still remember how it came to be," he started to recollect his memories, "I was working on a ship and because of one small mistake I was fired. I came upon this island and was sick, hungry and thirsty. Your parents took me in. And ever since then, I've been indebted to them to help them in anyway that I can. I know that I shouldn't get involved with your friends," Klahadore started to cry, "But I can't let anything bad happen to you! Usopp has a bad reputation in town, and if you were to get hurt…I…. I…."

"I understand Klahadore. I know you were just trying to protect me, but Usopp isn't a bad person." Kaya forgave her butler. They continued to talk, the butler convincing her to eat her lunch. Little did they know, that during all of this Naruto was perched on Kaya's windowsill at an angle that allowed him to remain hidden to the people inside.

"Fake. Everything he said. Fake." Naruto muttered as he jumped off the windowsill to find Luffy and the others.

**Town**

"Where's Luffy?" Nami asked as she sat on a gate with the rest of the crew.

"I dunno, I saw him running after Usopp." Zoro answered.

"You know what this means? He must be there!" Ninjin told them.

"Of course! The shore, whenever anything happens he goes there." Piiman explained.

"Are you going to check it out?" Ninjin asked.

"Nah, he'll come back to us." Zoro answered. There was a gust of wind as something landed next to Nami on the gate.

"Hey." Naruto greeted, shocking Nami.

"How did you do that!?" Asked the shocked Nami.

"Magic." Naruto stated dismissively. Before Nami could get the chance to follow up on the topic they heard a shriek come from their left.

"Waaahhh! This is bad! Really bad!" A figure started running as fast as they could.

"Oh, it's Tamanegi." Piiman said, recognising him.

"T-t-there's a man walking backwards!" Tamanegi exclaimed when he reached them.

"Liar." Piiman and Ninjin said together.

"It's true! Look! There he is!" Tamanegi proclaimed. The crew looked to where he was pointing and there was indeed a man, walking backwards. He continued to walk backwards until he was facing them.

"Who said I was weird! I'm perfectly normal." The man told them.

"No, you really aren't." Zoro told him after looking at his strange attire. He was wearing a long dark blue trench coat and a matching blue top hat, green-brown gloves and red-lensed heart-shaped glasses. He had a black belt and black shoes with big white socks.

"Shut up! I'm just a passing hypnotist." He defended himself.

"A hypnotist!" Tamanegi exclaimed.

"Can you show us some tricks?" Ninjin asked.

"Yeah!" Piiman exclaimed.

"Please, you can't appreciate hypnotism, therefore you don't deserved to be graced with the gift of watching Jango perform," The newly identified Jango chided them, "Ok now stare into this." He said as he pulled out a pendulum.

"You're showing them anyway?" Naruto questioned.

"When I say 'One, Two, Jango' you'll all fall asleep," Jango told them, "One, Two…Jango!" At his announcement not only the kids fell asleep, but he himself.

'What the hell?" Nami thought.

**Shore**

Usopp was staring off at the dock where the Straw-Hat Pirates had anchored not long ago.

"Hey." Luffy swung down from the branch above the long-nosed sniper, hanging by his feet.

"It's you! Why are you here!" Usopp exclaimed.

"You're dad's Yasopp right?" Luffy asked as he jumped down.

"Ah…how do you know that!?" Usopp asked. Luffy sat himself down next to Usopp.

"I've known him since I was a kid." Luffy told him.

"Really!?" Usopp exclaimed.

"Yup. You look just like him too, no wonder I thought you looked similar." Luffy stated.

"Where is he now?" Usopp asked.

"Dunno, but I'm pretty sure he's still on Red-Haired Shanks ship. Yasopp is one of my favourite pirates in that crew!" Luffy answered.

"Red-Haired Shanks…" Usopp stated as he looked off blissfully at the sky, but then the thought came back to him, "Red-Haired Shanks!?"

"You know him?" Luffy asked.

"Of course I do! He's one of the greatest pirates in the world!" Usopp shouted, "Is my dad really on that ship!"

"Yeah, he's really good at shooting. He never missed a shot," Luffy explained, "I can still remember when he shot an apple from a hundred feet away."

"Really!? Is that true!?" Usopp asked, joy growing in his eyes.

"Yeah! He was really popular too!" Luffy told him. Usopp stood up and stared at the water below them.

"To tell you the truth, even though my dad left me for the thrill of the pirate's life. I've always been proud of him. Klahadore talked badly about him, my dad could take him out in a second!" Usopp proclaimed.

"I don't like him at all!" Luffy stated, "Are you gonna go see ojousama again?"

"I dunno," Usopp sighed, "maybe if the butler apologises to me."

"That butler?" Luffy asked as he pointed down to the sand.

"Yeah that butl-What's he doing here!" Usopp shouted. Down on the sand were Klahadore and the hypnotist Jango. Usopp and Luffy both got on the ground in order to not get spotted, they were able to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"God damn it Jango! I told you not to attract any attention, yet I find you sleeping in the middle of the road!" The butler exclaimed.

"Hey! There's nothing weird with that!" Jango argued.

"Who's the weird guy?" Luffy asked.

"I dunno, I haven't seen him around here before." Usopp answered.

"Never mind that, are you prepared." Klahadore asked.

"Of course. We can start Operation 'Assassinate Ojousama' any time." The hypnotist replied.

'_Assasinate!_' Was the thought that ran through both Usopp and Luffy's head.

"Don't call it that. Assasinate is such an ugly word." Klahadore told the hypnotist.

"An accident then! We'll call it an accident! Is that okay Captain Kuro?" Jango asked.

'_C-Captain Kuro!_' Usopp thought.

"Don't call me that," The unveiled Kuro commanded, "I gave up that name three years ago. You're the captain now."

"Whose Captain Kuro?" Luffy asked.

"He was a pirate known for his careful planning and ruthless tactics, but I heard he was caught three years ago and was executed." Usopp explained.

"Before this, when I worked for you, there were lots of benefits, that's the only reason I was with you," Jango explained, "I better get a good share."

"Yes, if you succeed you will get your share." The former pirate captain reassured.

"Good, you can leave the girl to me." The hypnotist said.

"No, killing her is not enough, you must hypnotise her into making her will to give all of her inheritance to me and then kill her making it look like an accident." Kuro explained the plan.

"Why go through so much trouble?" Jango asked.

"Because this way I can openly accept the money, I've worked for three years on gaining the villagers trust, and as to why I didn't just rob and kill her, it's because if I did so the marines would still be chasing me. This plan will let me keep the money and live a peaceful life." The strategist explained his plan.

"Whatever," Jango shrugged not seeing the point in waiting, "your going to have to initiate the plan soon. They can't wait much longer."

"Hey you two! Don't you dare attack ojousama!" Luffy yelled from the cliffside, gaining their attention.

"Hm?" Kuro looked up in their direction.

"Baka! Get down!" Usopp attempted to pull Luffy down but to no avail.

"Usopp." Kuro noted.

"Ah!" Usopp shrieked.

"Did you hear anything?" The strategist asked in a threatening manner.

"Nope! Not at all-" Usopp tried to convince.

"We heard everything!" Luffy shouted.

"Everything you say? Well, take a look at this pendulum," Jango told them as he pulled out his pendulum, "When I say 'One, Two, Jango' you will fall asleep." 

"Really?" Luffy asked, somewhat excited about being hypnotised, while Usopp jumped back and hid in the bushes.

"One…Two…Jango!" With that Luffy, of course, fell asleep and so did Jango.

"You haven't gotten rid of that old habit have you?" Kuro said to himself, as he made sure that his hypnotist didn't hit the ground. Luffy's body started to sway and then fell completely off the edge, hitting his head on the hard ground.

"Damn, I didn't want to kill him," Jango said to himself, he looked up to see Usopp looking at Luffy's body in horror, "should I kill him?"

"You don't need to, nobody will believe what he says," Kuro replied, "Tomorrow you shall carry through with the plan, take the crew and attack the village! Destroy some houses and make it look like an average pirate raid, then kill Kaya! You hear that Usopp! Nothing you say will affect my plan!"

"You bastard!" Usopp shouted as he ran back to the town, "This is bad! Really really bad!" He soon rushed past the rest of the Straw-Hat Pirates and the kids.

"Ah! It's the captain!" The kids said in unison.

"Wasn't Luffy with him?" Zoro asked.

"Is he angry because of the butler? Is he going to talk to him?" Nami said her thoughts.

"No," Naruto concluded, "Did you see his expression? It wasn't that of anger, he was shocked, in fear, and scared. Something must've gone down at the shore."

"Yeah! Didn't the hypnotist go down the way Captain just came from!?" Piiman noted.

"Oi, kids how do I get to the shore?" Zoro asked.

"We'll take you!" Ninjin told him. Back with Usopp, he had just reached the town.

"Pirates! Pirates! Their here! Their gonna attack tomorrow!" Usopp warned.

"Usopp shut your mouth!" One of the villagers said as they progressively opened their doors holding shovels and brooms.

"We're gonna teach you a lesson!" Another one said.

"No! It's the truth this time!" Usopp pleaded for them to listen.

"You say the same thing every time!" A villager yelled.

"Your taking advantage of us all!" Another one agreed.

"I know! I know! I was joking all the other times! But this time I'm serious!" Usopp told them.

"If you were an honest man like Klahadore I might've believed you." An elderly woman noted.

"B-bastard!" Usopp cursed under his breath, "Please believe me this once! Pirates are coming!"

"Just leave!" They continued shouting curses at him.

"Please! Just believe me this once!" Usopp continued to plead with them. 

"Only an idiot would fall for that crap again!" They started to charge at Usopp.

"Fine!" Usopp yelled as he fled the town.

'_If they aren't gonna trust me then I'm just gonna have to handle the pirates myself!_' Usopp thought.

**Shore**

"Kaya's gonna die!" The kids yelled in shock.

"Yep that's what the guy said." Luffy confirmed.

"Why are you sleeping here?" Nami asked.

"I was on top of the cliff and then... I dunno." Luffy recounted.

"I knew the butler was a bad person!" Piiman stated.

"Yeah he gave me the creeps!" Ninjin agreed.

"The hypnotist must've been bad as well!" Tamanegi noted.

"Well you guys are lucky! You're the first to know, you should pack your bags and run while you still can." Nami told them.

"Oh no!" Luffy yelled.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"We haven't bought our meat yet! The butcher will be scared off!" Luffy shouted in dismay.

"You're in luck Luffy," Naruto told him, "nobody is going to run away, or be scared off."

"Why is that?" Zoro asked.

"Have you heard about Usopp's reputation?" Naruto asked.

"No." He replied.

"It's not a good one," Naruto answered, "its like the 'boy who cried wolf' he's known as a liar and so I don't think anyone would believe him, especially on something as big as this."

"Damn, that's not good." Nami stated.

**Mansion**

Kaya was in her room reading when she heard a knock on her window, she turned and beamed when she saw that it was Usopp.

"Usopp! I was worried that you wouldn't come back!" Kaya beamed.

"Kaya! Hurry you have to escape! You're gonna die!" Usopp yelled.

"W-what?" Kaya asked.

"The butler lied to you! He's actually a pirate!" Usopp informed her.

"W-wait a minute…are you saying Klahadore is a pirate?" She asked, not sure of herself.

"Its true! I overheard a conversation with him and a hypnotist at the shore!" Usopp explained, "He came to work for your family because of your family's wealth!"

"What are you talking about?" Kaya asked, worry clear on her face.

"Tomorrow, him and his crew are gonna attack the village and then he's gonna kill you! If you don't leave now it'll be too late!" Usopp shouted.

"I was wrong about you!" Kaya shouted.

"What?" Usopp asked.

"I can't believe your doing this to get revenge on Klahadore," Kaya said, tears starting to form, "I know he was a bit harsh on you, but how can you make up lies like this!"

"I-It's not like that!" Usopp tried to assure.

"I used to like your lies, they were fun. But now you're using them for revenge!" Kaya yelled.

"I'm telling the truth!" Usopp pleaded.

"You're a horrible person!" Kaya shouted.

"P-please listen to me!" Usopp was going to say more but was caught by two guards.

"Ojousama! Are you alright!" One of them asked, but before she could answer Usopp bit one of their hands causing him to let go, "Little brat!" Before the other one could react Usopp pulled out his slingshot and shot him in the eye, and the other one in the torso.

"Kaya! Please listen to me! You have to come with me!" Usopp told her again.

"Y-you have to be lying." Kaya was in tears.

"Fine! I'll have to take you myself!" Usopp grabbed her wrist, to which he got a hard slap across his cheek from the girl he was trying to save.

"Look at you! How could I believe you!?" Kaya shouted, they heard a gun cock beside her. It was the other butler with the head that resembled a lamb.

"Get out! I'll shoot!" He said as he pointed the gun at Usopp.

"No! Don't!" Kaya yelled, but it was too late, the butler had shot the gun. Luckily Usopp had gotten away just in time for it to only graze his arm. Usopp had fled the mansion, with the mob of villagers still on his tail.

"He's over that way!" The butler pointed in the direction of Usopp. Usopp kept running as fast as he could, but unfortunately he didn't have enough stamina, and he stopped shortly after, leaning onto one of the many gates that outlined the roads. He turned back and saw the mob continuing to follow him.

"Shit!" He cursed. Just before they were able to reach him, he felt someone pick him and throw him over their shoulder.

"Sup." Naruto greeted, and ran off with the long-nosed man on his shoulder. He ran much faster than Usopp even though he was weighed down. They soon outran the villagers and lost sight of them. Naruto set Usopp down on the road.

"W-what are you doing here!?" Usopp yelled, still angry about what happened at the mansion.

"I knew that the villagers wouldn't believe you, I had to get you before you got seriously hurt," Naruto looked down at the long graze on the sharpshooter's left arm, "looks like I could've been a bit faster."

"Why won't they believe me!?" Usopp shouted to no one.

"You can't blame them for not believing, you do this everyday, they think it's another lie. On top of that, you probably said that the butler was a pirate, which they would never believe." Naruto explained as he leaned back against the gate. Usopp sighed, trying to fight back tears.

"Captain!" They turned to see the crew walking towards them. Usopp quickly stood up and hid his left arm from view.

"Hey everybody!" He greeted, still trying to keep himself from crying, he then saw Luffy, "How can you still be alive!?"

"Still alive? I just woke up." Luffy stated.

"Captain! We've heard the news about the pirates! We need to warn everyone!" Piiman stated.

"Warn?" Usopp asked, "Mwahahahahaha! What pirates!?" Usopp started laughing, "It was a lie! Just like all the other times! I was just taking my revenge on the butler!"

"Captain you shouldn't make up lies like that!" Ninjin shouted.

"Yeah! I feel the same way!" Piiman agreed.

"No matter what the butler said, the Captain I knew would never do that." Tamanegi stated.

"Let's go home guys, I don't want to be around Captain right now." Piiman said and with that, they left their Captain.

"Was it really a lie?" Zoro asked.

"No," Usopp sighed, "I just don't want them to get hurt, they're just kids, come on, we should go discuss it at the shore."

**Shore**

"Because I used to lie all the time, nobody believes me. Even so the fact remains that the pirates are going to attack tomorrow morning. The villagers will just think of it as a normal boring day," Usopp said as he stood up on the sand facing the crew, "since everyone thinks I'm a liar! I'll protect this town myself and stop the pirates attacking! At the end of the day this will come off as one of my lies! Even if they shot at me! And chased me with broomsticks! I love this town! I can't watch them die!" 

"You're a pretty good guy y'know? Lying to make sure that your crew doesn't get hurt." Zoro commented.

"I'm gonna beat them up!" Luffy stated confidently.

"Remember the treasure's mine!" Nami told them.

"I hope they're strong." Naruto said.

"Y-you guys are willing to fight with me?" Usopp asked, "Why?"

"You're outnumbered." Luffy stated.

"You don't look very strong." Zoro told him blatantly.

"Fun." Naruto smirked.

"Baka! I don't need help! I don't care if they outnumber me! I can take them all on!" Usopp declared, he would've looked fine if he didn't have constantly shaking legs, "Ah! Stop shaking!" he continued to hit his legs in an attempt to stop shaking, he eventually stopped and looked up, "Of course I'm scared! It's Captain Kuro's crew! I don't need any sympathy!"

"We aren't sympathizing with you," Zoro told him, "we're just commending you on wanting to protect your hometown."

"Why else would you risk our lives?" Luffy asked.

"Fine," Usopp sighed, happy that he would be getting support, "they're gonna attack from the shore since that's the only way to enter the town. But there's only one path and everything surrounding it are cliffs. So as long as we guard this slope the town won't be harmed."

"Easy!" Luffy grinned.

"Easier said than done," Usopp muttered, "what are you guys good at?"

"Cutting." Zoro replied.

"Stretching!" Luffy answered happily.

"Stealing." Nami replied.

"Fighting." Naruto smirked.

"Hiding." Usopp answered his own question.

"You have to fight too!" The crew yelled in unison.

**Mansion**

"Where's ojousama?" The disguised-pirate asked to his so-called colleague Merry.

"She's asleep, she was very tired after everything that happened today." Merry replied.

"I can't believe everything that's happened while I was gone, Usopp is quite a trouble maker." The now Klahadore stated.

"Yes I can't believe he would say that you're a pirate, it's not even a good lie." Merry chuckled.

"Yes," Kuro smirked evilly, "anyone who would believe that is a baka," he walked over to the table and saw there was a package with his name on it, "what's this?"

"Oh that? It's a present from ojousama. She said it's because tomorrow it will be exactly three years since you came to work here." Merry explained.

"Anniversary…" Klahadore stated.

"Yes, it will be your three year anniversary. Because your glasses always slip off, ojousama personally went to the next town and ordered them despite her illness," Merry started crying comically, "she's just so nice and caring."

"She call's it an anniversary…tomorrow is a very special day," Klahadore put on the new glasses and dropped the packaging, "tonight's moon…it's crescent. I always get excited on nights like these." He then took off his glasses, threw them on the floor and stomped on them.

"Why did you do that!?" Merry shouted, "Ojousama went through so much trouble to get you that!" 

"I will decide my presents. And I don't want small presents, I want everything in this house." Klahadore was starting to change into Kuro.

"W-what?" Merry gasped.

"There's no need to act like this, in just a couple of hours this town will be overtaken by pirates." Kuro said as he started to walk towards Merry.

"O-ojousama! Run!" Merry warned, but it was too late. Soon, he was face down in his own blood.

"Hahaha! Tomorrow will be a good day!" Kuro laughed manically.

**Shore**

"Done!" Luffy declared as he looked down at the work that the crew had done. They had poured a massive amount of oil onto the slope going up to the town so that when the pirates come they'll just slip down.

"The bastards won't be able to get up the slope now!" Usopp proclaimed, "This is the most effective way to fight them."

"Just don't fall down there yourself or your screwed." Nami warned.

"Don't worry I have a lot of confidence in the plan!" Usopp assured her, the sun started to come up, "The pirates should be here soon!" They were all ready for the fight. That was until half an hour passed and they were wondering where the pirates were.

"Why aren't they here? It's morning already." Luffy whined.

"You don't suppose they slept in?" Zoro asked.

"Am I just overly sensitive or can anyone else her someone shouting 'go' north of here?" Nami asked.

"The north!" Usopp shouted.

"I'm positive!" Nami told him. 

"What's wrong!?" Zoro asked.

"There's a path to the town up north but…" Usopp started to explain.

"Don't tell me you got it wrong!" Luffy shouted.

"They talked about the plan here so I thought they would attack from this way!" Usopp explained.

"How far away is it!?" Luffy asked.

"It'll take about three minutes. The landscape is basically the same as this." Usopp replied.

"I'll get there in twenty seconds!" Luffy sped off.

"Damn it!" Nami yelled when she realised that their boats were docked there and that they were likely to get robbed, in her anger she placed one of her feet on the oil, "Ah!" She grabbed out to something that she could hold, this happening to be Zoro's shirt.

"What!" Zoro gasped.

"Sorry!" Nami apologised. She used his body to push herself up.

"Hahahaha!" Naruto laughed at the predicament Zoro was in.

"Nami I'm gonna kill you!" Zoro shouted.

"Usopp, Nami grab on," Naruto said, putting Usopp on his back and Nami in his arms, to which she blushed slightly, "Usopp your gonna direct me to where the north shore is."

"Okay just keep going straight until you reach the steep incline, then all you have to do is turn right and go for about fifty meters and then your at the shore!" Usopp directed. Naruto grinned and sped off, he was going way faster than Luffy who had taken off before them and within seconds they had reached the incline that Usopp was talking about. Soon they were at the shore, they saw the pirates charging up the slope.

"Back off!" Naruto shouted as he kicked them all down. He set Nami and Usopp on the ground next to him.

"Who is that guy?" Jango asked to himself from the bottom of the shore.

"I'm Captain Usopp!" Usopp started his introduction, "I've been waiting for you! If you don't want to die then retreat now!"

"You're the one who overheard our conversation. What do you want?" Jango asked, not fazed by him.

"I'm warning you! Retreat now! I've got a hundred million men ready to destroy all of you!" Usopp lied.

"Only a baka would fall for a lie like that." The pirates started murmuring.

"What! A hundred million!" Jango gasped in shock.

"Captain! He's lying!" The crew calmed him down.

"What! How dare you lie to me!" Jango shouted up at the sniper.

"Shit! What do I do?" Usopp asked himself.

"I've got this," Naruto said. He looked towards their boats and saw the pirates taking some of their treasure, "Lemme just handle this first."

"What?" Usopp asked. Naruto seemingly vanished and reappeared in front of the pirates walking out of their boats. He punched them all in the gut, winding them and took the bags of treasure and placed them at the top of the slope. He then stood up and looked over all the pirates below him.

'_I haven't tried it on multiple people before, but I guess I can start now._' Naruto thought as his eyes started to turn red with a slit in them.

"All of you," he said gaining attention, "**Akuma no Yoru.**" All of the pirates were staring at Naruto, shaking in fear of what they were witnessing. To them everything was burning, the sky was red, the water was red and all of the other pirates were monsters based on their fears. And the boy at the top of the hill started morphing into a blood red demon with four swishing tails. Naruto clutched his eyes, unable to hold the technique on multiple people for very long.

'_I need to work on that, it took up way to much energy._' Naruto thought.

"Naruto what was that?" Nami asked.

"A technique I've been working on, it's still in progress." Naruto answered as his eyes returned to their normal blue colour.

"What the hell was that!?" Jango shouted after regaining his ability to speak, "Nevermind! When I say 'One, Two, Jango' you will fall asleep!" Jango pulled out his pendulum, "One-" Naruto snatched the pendulum and crushed it.

"No." Naruto replied and jumped back up to the top of the slope.

"H-how are you so fast?" Usopp asked.

"How are you so slow?" Naruto retorted.

"Naruto! Go down there and fight them all! We'll back you up!" Nami ordered. Before Naruto could reply all of the pirates started running up.

"Charge! Destroy the town!" The pirates shouted.

"They're coming!" Nami yelled.

"I've got these! Spikes!" Usopp fumbled around in his pockets and pulled out some spikes.

"Quick throw them down!" Nami shouted as she and Usopp threw down the spikes while Naruto watched in amusement. The pirates, who were too stupid to tell, ran straight into the spikes. They were soon on the ground screaming in pain.

"Ouch!" They were shouting.

"Now for my special attack, **Namaribashii!**" Usopp pulled back his slingshot and shot one of the pirates in the eye.

"Oh no!" Nami shouted.

"What?" Usopp asked.

"The spikes are behind us as well!" Nami informed.

"You threw those ones!" Usopp yelled angrily.

"You're blocking our way! Die!" A pirate came up to Usopp while they were arguing and attempted to swing his club down on Usopp's head. But just before it managed to hit his head, Naruto came in and kicked him out of the way.

"Usopp focus!" Naruto shouted.

"R-Right!" Usopp said.

"You're the one who should focus!" More pirates came up to Naruto and soon he was in a fight with all of them. Naruto was weaving around all of the pirate's attempts to attack him

'_This is as good a time as ever to try it out._' Naruto thought as he jumped up as far as he could.

"Where'd he go?" The pirates started asking. Naruto then came crashing down and slammed his leg down as hard as he could, creating a crater in the process and sending the pirates in any direction.

"**Akuma Sūpāpindoroppukirā!(2.)**" Naruto shouted.

"Ah!" Nami and Usopp screamed, holding onto each other trying not to get sent flying from the shockwave.

"W-w-who are theses guys?" Jango asked himself, he too was sent into the water.

"Naruto! So cool!" A voice came from the top of the slop. Naruto turned around and saw Luffy and Zoro.

"What took you guys so long?" Naruto asked.

"Usopp! You didn't tell me what way north is!" Luffy accused.

"Nami! I'm gonna kill you!" Zoro shouted angrily.

"Y-your s-s-so strong." Usopp stated, amazed at what Naruto was able to do.

"Why're you so late?" Nami asked rudely.

"It was your fault! You pushed me down the slope!" Zoro yelled back.

"I couldn't help it! Better one person than the both of us!" Nami argued.

"Then you should've been the one to fall!" Zoro shouted back.

"Men! You aren't down from a child are you!" Jango shouted, trying to raise the moral of his crew, the crew struggled to stand.

"Their still alive?" Naruto questioned.

"Since the opponent is strong…we must be stronger," Jango told them as he pulled out another pendulum to replace the one Naruto crushed, "When I say 'One, Two, Jango' you will all be strong and your wounds will heal."

"What's going on?" Luffy asked.

"He's trying to use hypnotism to get the crew to believe that their strong." Nami explained.

"Will it work?" Zoro asked.

"Dunno." Nami replied.

"One, Two…Jango!" And with those simple words, the entire crew got back on their feet howling with power, their wounds gone. The Straw-Hat Pirates were shocked and surprised. 

"No way!" Nami shouted.

"Heah!" In a test of strength one of the pirates punched the cliffside, making it fall down.

"How did they get so strong!?" Zoro shouted.

"Now go! Kill them!" Jango ordered as the crew charged up the slope, faster and stronger than before.

"Oi! Nami and Usopp go up the slope, we'll handle this." Zoro commanded, to which they eagerly nodded.

"This'll be fun." Naruto stated.

"Hey Luffy!" Zoro shouted, but Luffy simply stood there, "Luffy?"

"Yeah!" Luffy shouted loudly, showing that he was hypnotised as well.

"What the hell!" Zoro shouted.

"Why am I surprised?" Naruto sighed.

"What the hell are these guys?" Usopp asked.

"I dunno." Nami replied. Luffy charged straight at the pirates coming up the slope.

"Oi!" Zoro tried to grab out to him, but Naruto stopped him.

"Don't worry, Luffy's got this." Naruto assured.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy started throwing punches at speeds so high that it seemed that he had grown hundreds of arms, "**Gatling!**" All of the pirates were punched back down to the shore by Luffy's powerful punches. But he didn't stop there, he continued running down to the pirate ship, he ran straight into the bow and gripped it tightly.

"W-what's he doing?" Jango asked.

"Arghhh!" Luffy shouted as he pulled off the bow of the ship.

"He's destroying our ship!" Jango shouted in peril. Luffy pulled it down and was about to sweep the entire crew.

"Captain help us!" The crew pleaded. Thinking fast, Jango pulled out his pendulum.

"When I say 'One, Two, Jango' you will fall asleep!" Jango announced, "One, Two…Jango!" As Luffy instantly fell asleep, losing power in his muscles, allowing the bow to completely overpower his body. The bow crushed Luffy and some of the pirates behind him.

"Turns out they aren't that strong." Naruto said.

"Damn kid," Jango said as he looked at the damage Luffy caused, "If Captain Kuro sees this he'll kill us!" 

"Is Luffy okay?" Nami asked.

"Yeah, his head's getting squashed." Usopp pointed out.

"Don't worry, Luffy won't die from that." Zoro assured them.

"Hey Buchi! Look! The ship's wrecked!" A voice came from the ship.

"Wrecked!? How!?" Another voice replied.

"T-that voice." A crewmember mumbled.

"T-t-the ship's guards." Another crewmember stated.

"Look's like something on that ship," Zoro stated, then immediately turned to Naruto, "I'm fighting them."

"Fine." Naruto muttered.

"Oh yeah…we still have those two." Jango stated.

"Heh…you'll all be killed." The crew mumbled in sync.

"Come down! Nyaban Brothers!" Jango shouted.

"Hey, he's shouting for us." Someone on the ship stated.

"Why? They aren't even in the village yet." Another person replied.

"Look everyone's been defeated, let's go check it out." The person said as they jumped down from the ship onto the shore.

"You're here." Jango stated.

"You called for us?" The man named Sham asked. He had a very slim figure and was hunched over. His green hair parted to the side and curled at the end. He was wearing a navy blue shirt, with light grey buttons and a magenta bow tie. He wore light-blue shorts, brown shoes and white socks that stuck out. He had dark brown gloves, with claws growing out at the end.

"What's up?" The man who stood next to him called Buchi asked. He was an overweight man with pale skin. He had abnormally sharp teeth, tiny eyes and wore a hat that covered his right eye that had cat ears on it. His pants were stripped black and white; he wore a yellow sash, and dark brown shoes. He also wore a blanket looking cape on his back that was stripped light purpled and dark purple with a fluffy brim. He wore a shoulder pad on his left and pale blue glows with claws at the end.

"Who are they?" Nami asked.

"They jumped from so high up." Usopp stated.

"They look weird." Zoro noted.

"Buchi, Sham, we couldn't pass due to these guys blocking our path. Go and destroy them!" Jango ordered.

"W-w-we can't!" Sham argued.

"T-t-t-t-t-they look strong!" Buchi shouted.

"What's going on? Aren't they strong?" Usopp asked.

"They look scared." Nami pointed out.

"I don't know about them." Zoro stated.

"Zoro, don't underestimate them." Naruto reminded.

"Right." Zoro nodded.

"We're just the ship's guardsmen!" Sham insisted.

"We don't want to fight in battles like these!" Buchi agreed.

"Sham! Go now!" Jango demanded.

"Eh! Why me!?" Sham shrieked like a harpy.

"Go!" Jango shouted.

"F-f-f-fine!" Sham yelled, almost in tears, "Prepare to die!" Sham started running at Zoro waving his claws in the air, "I'll shred you up!"

"What can you do with those claws?" Zoro asked, "I'll kill you easily!"

"Kill me eh?" Sham asked, all of his fear disappearing.

"What!?" Zoro shouted as Sham launched himself from his position to slam his claws into Zoro's sword.

'_Fast!_' Zoro thought.

"You must be thinking I'm a coward…but to tell the truth I'm not scared at all." Sham revealed.

"He was acting!" Usopp came to the conclusion.

"Zoro your katanas!" Nami shouted. Zoro tapped at his waist, where his swords were usually positioned, but he couldn't feel anything.

"Eh! Where did they go!?" Zoro questioned.

"You look like you have a few skills, but you underestimated me." Sham stated, Zoro's missing katana's strapped around his back.

"Cat Burglar." Buchi stated.

'_H-He stole my katana, how quick!_' Zoro thought.

"Give me back my katanas!" Zoro ordered.

"Give them back? Don't you already have one? I think that's enough." Sham smirked, "but before the fight I better get these out of the way," He grabbed the katana's and threw them down to the shore. Sham didn't notice this but Zoro's eyes gleamed with rage, "okay now that's better." Sham couldn't react fast enough as Zoro rushed at him with anger.

"Don't treat others katanas with disrespect!" Zoro shouted as he slashed at Sham's torso, nearly cutting him in half.

"Wow! How strong!" Usopp exclaimed.

"Have to get to the katanas!" Zoro exclaimed as he ran down to reach his precious katanas.

"Did you just cut me?" Sham asked as he sat himself down on Zoro's back, "Too bad for you! I've got a very thin waist." 

"Instead of cutting him like Zoro thought, he just cut his shirt." Naruto reasoned.

"What!" Zoro shouted in surprise.

"Buchi! Go!" Sham signalled.

"Okay! Got it!" Buchi shouted as Sham forced Zoro face-first in the ground, Buchi jumped high above Zoro's head, "**Cat the Funjyatta!**" The overweight man started falling down at high speeds.

"Zoro! Naruto! Do something!" Nami pleaded. Naruto just watched on, unwavering. Just before Buchi was able to slam down on Zoro's head, he managed to overpower the cat burglar on his back and roll out of the way. Buchi's powerful drop kick caused the ground to crack.

"T-the ground cracked!" Usopp shouted, "He must be strong."

"Damn he got away!" Sham shouted.

"You should hold him down better." Buchi told his partner.

"Yeah, yeah, he's just stronger than I thought." Sham replied. Zoro managed to find his footing again and stood up.

'_These guys aren't a joke. If I get hit by the fat guy's attack I'll be done for, even my bones will shatter._' Zoro thought.

"You won't escape this time!" Sham shouted threateningly.

"Yeah!" Buchi agreed.

'_I'm not used to using just one katana, but it'll have to do._' Zoro thought.

"Die!" Buchi shouted.

"Let's do it Buchi!" Sham yelled as they launched themselves at Zoro.

"**Neko-Yanagi Daikoshin!**" They yelled in unison and started waving their claws madly at Zoro, with him barely able to block them all.

"Zoro can't handle them!" Nami shouted.

"I've got this!" Usopp shouted as he pulled out his slingshot, "If I can get one-"

"Don't." Naruto said simply.

"What are you talking about? Zoro can't handle them!" Usopp tried to reason with the blonde kid.

"Zoro said at the start that he was going to fight them." Naruto replied and sent them both a stare that kept them from doing anything else.

'_If I only had another katana!_' Zoro thought as he continued to block the barrage of strikes from the Nyaban brothers.

"If this goes on, Zoro will run out of energy, if I get him his katanas he'll win for sure!" Nami reasoned as she started running down the slope, right towards the katanas. But just before she was able to get the swords, Jango cut her shoulder deeply with his pendulum, causing her to crash into the sand.

"What'd you think your doing?" He asked ominously, Sham and Buchi smirked as they continued their assault; everything was going their way. But then they started shaking nervously.

"I-I-I c-can explain t-t-this." Jango shuddered. The Nyaban Brothers were to scared to move. Even the injured crew started shaking. Usopp turned around and gasped.

"For him to show up now!" Usopp muttered. Naruto didn't have to turn around; he already knew what was there. Standing behind him, was the frightening Captain Kuro.

"It's been a while since dawn. And I was wondering," Kuro looked over all of his men, "What the hell happened!"

"C-c-c-c-captain." The crew started whispering.

"I didn't expect you to be held up by a bunch of kids. The Black Cat Pirates have never been reduced to such a sad state. Isn't that right Jango!?" Kuro called for the hypnotist.

"B-but…but t-the day on the s-shore. Y-y-you said we…c-could let him go." Jango replied.

"So what!? He cannot affect our plans. I expected him to come here, but I didn't expect for your uselessness! I don't want any more excuses!" Kuro shouted angrily.

"Useless?" Sham asked.

"Don't look down on us Captain." Buchi said.

"Indeed you were very powerful, but that's in the past." Sham flexed his muscles.

"What are you trying to say?" Kuro asked.

"Buchi! Sham! Shut up!" Jango already knew where this was going.

"That was three years ago! While you've been living peacefully in that town! We've been perfecting our skills!" Sham shouted.

"We've raided many villages! And sunk many ships!" Buchi yelled.

"Mutiny?" Usopp questioned.

"We won't allow ourselves to be killed because of a 'failed plan'!" Sham yelled, rage in his eyes.

"You still think you can beat us! The Nyaban Brothers! After three years!" Buchi screamed.

"That's true." The crew mumbled.

"If they both ganged up, they could beat Jango." They continued mumbling.

"They are the strongest in the crew, that's a fact." They stated.

"Instead of being killed! We will kill!" Sham rushed at his former captain.

"You're no longer our captain!" Buchi followed. They slashed at what they thought to be Kuro, but it was just a duffle bag. Kuro appeared behind them, with his signature 'Cat Claws' on his hands.

"Who did you say you were going to kill?" Kuro asked.

"I-it's like yours Naruto." Usopp noted.

"It's the **Creeping Cat**!" The crew shrieked.

"What a weird weapon." Zoro observed.

"He's behind us!" Sham and Buchi turned quickly, but Kuro was gone yet again. Only to appear behind them with his arms slung over their shoulders.

"It's true I don't feel too active," Kuro pointed his thumb claws so that they pricked the skin of their neck, "It's also true that I'm not your captain. I'm just the client. A client who kills if the job isn't done right."

"This is the first time I've seen the Nyaban Brothers get caught!" The crew exclaimed.

"What are you hoping for?" Jango asked his crew, "His **Creeping Cat** technique is a soundless moving technique. Even if he's facing fifty assassins he can still kill them all silently, we can't escape his plan." Kuro increased the pricking to a slight stab, making the Nyaban Brothers experience intense pain. But neither dared to say anything about it.

"It seems that my three years here have made me generous," Kuro told them, "I'll give you five minutes to kill them all. If you can't settle this within five minutes I'll kill you all!"

"I don't want to die!" The crew screamed in panic.

"Five minutes…" The Nyaban Brothers mumbled as they were released from Kuro.

"I'm gonna fight you." Naruto declared to the shock of everyone there.

"Naruto!?" Usopp exclaimed, fearing what might happen to his blonde friend.

'_Naruto…your strong but…_' Nami thought down on the sand. Kuro gazed at Naruto, his unwavering eyes.

"Your just a kid, fourteen, fifteen at most. Why do you want to throw your life away so easily?" Kuro asked.

"I'm not." Naruto replied.

"Then why do you wish to fight me?" Kuro asked again.

"Because I want to test myself." Naruto grinned evily.

"Fine." Kuro stated. Not afraid of what the young boy could do to him.

"That kid…" Sham stated, amazed at the bravery he was showing.

"Come on Sham, we can't get distracted! Let's finish this guy!" Buchi shouted.

"Right! We'll finish him in five seconds!" Sham shouted.

"Zoro!" Nami shouted gaining attention, "Your katanas!" She kicked his swords up to him.

"Stupid girl! Don't kick my katanas!" Zoro yelled.

"Aren't you gonna repay me?" Nami smirked.

"Heh…thanks." Zoro smirked as he grabbed his swords.

"Shyaaaa!" Sham shouted.

"Even with three swords you can't beat us!" Buchi yelled.

"You don't know the difference," Zoro stated as he placed his katana in his mouth, "between using three swords and 'Santoryu'."

"Kill them!" The crew cheered the guardsmen on.

"**Tora…**" Zoro placed both his swords behind the one in his mouth, preparing for a downward slash.

"Shyahahaha!" The Nyaban Brothers were close to killing Zoro.

"**Gari!**" Zoro cut both of them easily, sending them flying. Everyone was watching in shock as the two strongest fighters in the Black Cat Pirate Crew were dispatched off easily.

"With only one slash! Ahh!" The crew screamed. Zoro pointed his sword towards Kuro.

"I'll kill you all within five minutes." Zoro stated, his bandanna covering his eyes.

"Zoro, I'm fighting him." Naruto stated looking right at Zoro.

"Right, right." Zoro sighed.

"Captain Jango!" Buchi spat out some blood.

"You were too nice, one of them is still alive." Kuro noted.

'_Must've been the fat._' Zoro thought.

"Help me!" Buchi shouted. Within seconds, he was standing, his wounds healed and stronger than before.

"The hypnotism!" Zoro exclaimed.

'_This guy is annoying! He could crack the ground before! What can he do now!'_ Zoro thought.

'_I need to wake up Luffy!_' Nami thought as she ran to where Luffy slept.

"What'd you think your doing!?" Jango shouted as he threw his pendulum at her.

"Everyone's fighting with wounds and your sleeping!" Nami shouted as she slammed her heel into Luffy's rubbery face, "Wake up!"

"Nami duck!" Zoro warned. Nami turned and noticed the pendulum racing towards her head.

"Why did you step on my face!?" Luffy shouted as he stood up, the pendulum going into the back of his head.

"That kid's still alive!" Jango exclaimed.

"He woke up at the wrong time." Zoro stated.

'_Didn't he die when he fell off the cliff?_' Kuro thought.

"Grr!" Luffy stomped his foot down to make sure he didn't fall, he grabbed the pendulum from his head and pulled it out.

"Impossible!" Jango exclaimed.

"He's really something." Zoro stated.

"That hurts!" Luffy shouted as he held the back of his head.

"He's been revived!" The crew shouted in utter disbelief.

"That really hurts!" Luffy shouted at Nami.

"Hey! Don't blame it on me!" Nami shouted back, she gripped her shoulder tightly.

"Is your shoulder alright?" Luffy asked.

"Y-yeah…we cannot lose this battle!" Nami exclaimed.

"Shishishi, of course!" Luffy grinned, "Heh, even the evil butler is here."

"I'm fighting him Luffy." Naruto made sure that he knew.

"Awhh…" Luffy whined.

"In three minutes all of you will be dead!" Kuro shouted.

"T-three minutes! We're done for! Even with Jango and Buchi! There's no hope!" The crew screamed.

"Buchi! We don't have any more time! Finish off the guy with the haramaki! I'll deal with the straw-hat kid!" Jango ordered.

"Klahadore! Stop it!" They heard a voice shout from the top of the slope. It was Kaya.

'_The sick girl?_' Naruto thought.

"Kaya! What are you doing!?" Usopp exclaimed, worried about her safety.

"Isn't that the ojousama of the mansion? She's our target!" Jango noted.

"You surprised me ojousama, what are you doing here?" Kuro asked, sliding his glasses up with the palm of his hand.

"Merry told me everything." Kaya told him.

"Really? He's still alive? I didn't show any mercy." Kuro sounded surprised.

'_He isn't Klahadore._' Kaya thought grimly.

"I'm sorry Usopp…but no matter what… I can't believe that Klahadore is a pirate." Kaya told Usopp.

"That doesn't matter! Why are you here!? Run away! Your fighting pirates!" Usopp warned.

"You're fighting though!" Kaya responded, "Even though we treated you so poorly your fighting!"

"W-we're different!" Usopp yelled.

"Klahadore if you want money, I'll give you everything! Just leave the town!" Kaya reasoned.

"No," Kuro stated, "it's not just money I'm after, it's 'peace of mind'. During the three years here, I feel at peace. The villagers trust me as well. Only once I've obtained peace and money will the plan be completed. You leaving your will to me is essential."

"Kaya! Don't bother negotiating! Just run!" Usopp shouted. Kaya pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Kuro.

"So you've become stronger these years." Kuro noted.

"Leave this town now!" Kaya ordered.

"Do you still remember? A lot of things have happened these past three years," Kuro recalled, "Since your parents died we've done lots of things together. Taken boat rides together…taken trips into town. When you were sick I was there for you. We had great times and sad times."

"Why did you stop!?" Kaya questioned.

"I was suffering," Kuro replied, "taking care of a whiny ojousama. I suffered keeping the façade. But I patiently waited for this day…so I could kill you!"

"Bastard!" Usopp muttered.

"I, the great Captain Kuro, was subjected to taking care of a little girl. Deliberately making her like me. Do you understand how demeaning it is?"

"Argh!" Usopp shouted as he rushed at Kuro, who simply sidestepped him.

"Usopp now that I think about it, I haven't repaid you for that punch have I?" Kuro smirked, "You hit me really hard." Just before Kuro slashed Usopp, Naruto appeared in-between them and punched Kuro in the same spot Usopp did. Kuro was sent flying into a nearby tree.

"Captain Kuro! He got knocked down!" The crew shouted in shock.

"I will kill you." Naruto announced.

'_Jeez, I knew that kid was strong and fast. But knocking down Captain Kuro is ridiculous!'_ Jango thought to himself. Kuro was gazing at Naruto from the bottom of the tree he had crashed into.

"C-captain's really angry!" The crew screamed.

"Now's our chance!" Voices yelled from the forest.

"The Usopp Pirate Crew!" Ninjin shouted as he and the rest of the crew jumped from the trees carrying kitchen utensils.

"Die you bastard!" Piiman shouted in angery.

"Evil butler!" Tamanegi screamed.

"How did you…?" Usopp wondered.

"Leave!" Kaya shouted.

"Hit him!" The kids started smashing their instruments into the former pirate captain's face.

"What the hell are those kids doing!?" The crew shouted.

"The hell?" Zoro questioned.

"Kids," Naruto said, his hair shadowing his eyes, scaring the kids sufficiently, "leave."

"N-n-n-n-n-no! W-we h-have to h-h-help!" Piiman argued.

"Well you can keep trying." Naruto smirked. The kids turned around to see Kuro standing, uninjured from their assault.

"Waaahhh!" They screamed.

"Bakas! Run!" Usopp demanded. Kuro started walking, but instead of attacking them, he walked right past them.

"What…?" They mumbled. He continued walking and kicked Usopp right in the gut sending him down the slope. He kept walking until he was less than a metre away from Naruto.

"Your punch was much harder than it should be," Kuro said, "I don't know how, but you're much stronger than I expected."

"Don't you dare hold back on me." Naruto warned threatingly.

"Jango!" Kuro shouted.

"Y-yes!" Jango replied.

"I'll take care of this kid, you get ojousama to write the will then kill her!" Kuro commanded, "And all the kids, they irritate me."

"Yes sir." Jango started walking up the slope, only to be stopped by Zoro's outstretched arm with sword in hand.

"I won't let you get through." Zoro declared.

"Buchi!" Jango shouted.

"**Cat the Funjyatta!**" Buchi exclaimed as he jumped in the air and slammed down where Zoro was just a second ago. Levelling the ground.

"Damn! He's stronger than before!" Zoro exclaimed. The cliffside around him started crumbling due to his strength.

"Baka, can't control his own strength." Kuro chided.

"Wow! So strong!" Luffy exclaimed. Buchi slammed Zoro into the side of the cliff. Zoro was able to block his claws with his katana, and placed his foot on Buchi's face.

"I already beat you before! Back off!" Zoro pushed Buchi away.

'_This is too intense, I'm getting dizzy. I gotta get the kids outta here._' Usopp thought. Usopp tried but it was too hard to get up.

"Usopp Pirate Crew!" Usopp declared.

"We aren't leaving Captain!" Piiman declared.

"Yeah! We're a crew!" Tamanegi shouted.

"We can't leave!" Ninjin told him.

"Protect Kaya!" Usopp ordered to their surprise, "I'm giving you the most important job! Take Kaya away from here safely! It's a Captain's Order you can't refuse!"

"Y-yes captain!" The kids shouted.

'_Nice, he basically told them to run away_.' Zoro thought.

"I won't let you get away." Jango stated as he pulled out another pendulum, now having one on each hand.

"Kaya run!" Piiman took Kaya's hand and led her into the forest.

"We know the forest really well!" Tamanegi told her.

"Don't worry!" Ninjin stated.

"Where can you run to?" Jango asked as he span the pendulums on his fingers.

"**Namariiboshi!**" Usopp shouted as he flung a lead bullet into Jango's back, sending him to the ground.

"Argh! Bastard!" He shouted.

"Serves you right!" Usopp grinned.

"Jango go get the girl!" Kuro ordered.

"R-right!" Jango replied as he ran off into the forest, following the kids.

"It's no use! I know how weak Kaya is, there's no way in hell that she can outrun Jango, unless you can help her. But there's no way you can get out of this slope alive." Kuro told them.

"Damn!" Usopp stated as he struggled to get up.

"Leave this to us!" Naruto, Luffy and Zoro told him.

**Forest**

"Is the hypnotist still after us?" Tamanegi asked.

"No I don't see him!" Ninjin responded. They had been running through the forest for several minutes now and they had made good progress, but they had to make sure to slow down for Kaya.

"He must be dreaming if he think he can catch up to us in the forest!" Piiman smirked.

"Don't worry Kaya we'll protect you!" Tamanegi assured her.

"That's right! In the name of the Usopp Pirates we'll protect you!" Piiman told her.

"Right…thank you." Kaya clutched her hand over her left breast, where her heart was. The pain of running was getting to her. Suddenly, the trees on their left were all cut down, leaving only the trunks.

"Wahh!" The kids screamed, they looked to see what had caused it, then they saw. It was Jango's pendulums.

"Not here either," Jango said to himself from his position, "kids! Get out here!"

"I thought he was just a normal hypnotist!" Ninjin shouted.

"If you won't come out I'll clear the whole forest!" Jango exclaimed.

**Shore**

"What was that noise?" Usopp asked.

"That's probably Jango losing his temper. As you can see you can't get out of this." Kuro answered.

"We'd better hurry." Zoro stated.

"Can you?" Kuro asked.

"You have stayed with her for three years! Don't you care for her at all!?" Usopp shouted.

"No. As I've said before, Kaya is just a pawn in my plan, I don't care for her." Kuro replied.

"I can't let you hurt her!" Usopp, using all of his strength, ran past Buchi.

"You can still move? Impressive," Kuro stated, "Buchi!" Buchi launched himself at Usopp, but before he reached him, Zoro put his sword around his neck and pulled him onto the ground.

"Don't get in the way, we're in a hurry," Zoro said as he looked down on Buchi, "you've messed around enough, I won't kill you if you just lie down quietly!" Just before Usopp continued moving, he fell to the ground, unable to move.

"D-damn it!" Usopp shouted.

"Hahahahaha! You're a joke!" Kuro laughed at him, "It's probably safer for you there though, even if you did manage to catch up to Jango you wouldn't be able to do anything to him."

"Even if I'm no match for him I must protect them!" Usopp started crying.

"Argh!" Buchi overpowered Zoro and threw him into the side of the cliff.

"I'm a brave pirate warrior! The captain of the Usopp Pirates!" Usopp declared. The pirates started laughing below them.

"If you laugh at Usopp, I will kill all of you!" Luffy shouted, shutting them all up.

"Shyaaa!" Buchi screamed as he slammed his claws into Zoro's katanas.

"You baka," Zoro told him, "I thought I already warned you don't get in the way. Get out of the way!" Zoro shouted and cut Buchi, leaving an x-shaped scar across his body.

"Ahh! Even the hypnotised Buchi wasn't enough!" The crew shouted.

"Luffy, I'm gonna take Usopp and bring him to the kids, is that all right?" Zoro asked.

"Yep." Luffy replied.

"What're you gonna be doing during the fight?" Naruto asked.

"Watching, I trust Usopp and Zoro to protect Kaya, and plus I wanna watch this fight!" Luffy grinned and sat at the top of the cliff.

"Sorry." Usopp wheezed out.

"I'd be faster without you, but we're going into the forest and I need you to guide me." Zoro explained.

"Who said you could get past me?" Kuro asked as he appeared in front of them.

"I did!" Naruto shouted as he threw a punch to Kuro's head, Kuro was able to dodge the blow though, "Go Zoro! Usopp!" While Naruto was following up on his punch, Kuro was able to knee him in the gut, sending him to the ground.

'_This guy isn't like Morgan or Buggy. He'll take every opportunity he gets._' Naruto thought. Naruto looked up at Kuro but saw that he had vanished. He heard him behind him and rolled forward in order to get out of the way of Kuro's cat claws. Naruto rolled onto his hands and pushed up, kicking Kuro in the jaw during the process. He sent the strategist into the air. Naruto grabbed him by the foot and threw him to the ground. He was going to continue with his assault but Kuro managed to disappear again.

'_He's as fast as me…maybe even faster._' Naruto thought.

"T-that kid…dares to challenge…C-Captain Kuro." The crew mumbled.

"Before we fight I have one question. Why are you, a stranger, fighting to protect this town?" Kuro asked.

"My captain told me to, plus it's a good ay to improve myself." Naruto replied.

"What a simple reason. Are you okay with dying for that reason?" Kuro asked.

"I'm not dying today." Naruto smirked.

**Forest**

Jango continued to cut down the trees in an attempt to find where the kids were.

"Where are they?" Jango wondered. The kids weren't that far away from where Jango was. They had to stop because Kaya had suddenly collapsed.

"Kaya!" They gasped. Kaya was on her knees leaning against a tree. Her body wasn't allowing her to keep going.

"G-go ahead boys. I'm alright." Kaya lied.

"Go ahead!? We're here to protect you!" Piiman refused to go.

"She looks really sick." Tamanegi noted.

"What!? Hang on!" Piiman told her.

"We gotta get her to a doctor!" Ninjin told them.

"Baka! We're running for our lives!" Piiman told them.

"But it's too dangerous to continue going on with Kaya!" Tamanegi told them.

"Right, we as the Usopp Pirate Crew must make a decision!" Piiman told them.

"Yeah! We'll fight him!" Ninjin stated.

"There you are." Jango said as he appeared from behind a tree.

"Wahhhh!" The kids screamed. Within seconds Jango was able to successfully subdue the kids, they were on the ground battered and beaten.

"Stop! I'll write the will if you stop hurting the boys!" Kaya told him.

"Baka! Don't try and negotiate with me! Captain Kuro said that I have to kill all of you!" Jango said as he kicked Piiman again.

"Piiman!" Kaya thought for a second and then picked up one of Jango's discarded pendulums and pointed it to her neck, "If you don't stop I'll kill myself! You won't get the will then!"

"Hey! Let's not go crazy here! If you do that I'll be in big trouble! I won't kill the kids!" Jango told her. Soon they were writing the will, Jango was watching over the crying ojousama as she wrote it out, "Don't forget to mark it with your thumbprint."

"H-here." Kaya gave him her will.

"I'm leaving all my inheritance to my butler, Klahadore," Jango read off the will, "good this will hold up, and I didn't even have to hypnotise you," he pulled out more pendulums and started swinging them on his fingers, "now I have to kill you, after all without you dead, a will is just a piece of paper!"

"You promised you wouldn't hurt the boys!" Kaya reminded him.

"Don't worry, I'm a man who keeps his words." Jango smirked.

"There they are!" Usopp shouted on Zoro's back, he could see Jango and Kaya in the distance, "Over there, she's in danger!"

"Wait here!" Zoro told him as he dropped him on the ground, allowing him to be faster, "Damn hypnotist!" Jango heard this and saw Zoro closing in on him.

"What he caught up with me!?" Jango exclaimed, "I better finish this off!" Just before he was able to cut her the kids rushed at him.

"Don't even think about it!" They screamed as they rammed their utensils into his arse.

"Damn brats!" Jango kicked them all away, "It's too late haramaki!"

"Really?" Zoro smirked and cut down the branch in front of him.

"Good that was blocking my way." Usopp stated.

"Usopp!" Kaya exclaimed.

"Captain!" The kids screamed happily. Usopp pulled back his slingshot.

"Eat this hypnotist! **Special Technique Kayakuboshi!**" Usopp released his slingshot and out came a ball of gunpowder that exploded on Jango's face, sending him to the ground, unconscious. Zoro smirked and took off his bandanna and strapped it around his left bicep. Usopp struggled to walk over to the kids, but managed. He sat down on one of the many tree trunks that Jango had cut down.

"Good job Captain!" The crew cheered.

"Thanks everyone for your strength and bravery. Can you guys keep everything that happened a secret?" Usopp asked.

"A secret!?" The crew exclaimed, "But we fought for the village! Everyone will change their opinions of you!"

"Usopp we have to fix the misunderstanding." Kaya told him.

"There's no misunderstanding, people would just say I'm a liar, plus there's no need for there to be any unnecessary fright. Besides, after today I don't think pirates would want to come to this town anymore. And the villagers will be able to continue living peacefully. So lets not tell anyone, it was all a lie." Usopp explained.

"Usopp." Kaya mumbled.

"I won't force it onto you but…" Usopp said.

"Don't worry! We'll do it! It's for the good of the town!" The kids exclaimed, happy to help the village.

"Kaya, will it be hard for you?" Usopp asked.

"No, I'm happy to help." She smiled.

**Shore**

"Die!" Kuro exclaimed as he rushed at Naruto. Before he slashed at him, Naruto front flipped over the attacker and threw several kunai at him. Kuro simply vanished in a burst of speed and appeared behind him, "Gotta be more careful!" Naruto smirked when he too disappeared and reappeared behind Kuro and punched him down the slope.

"Your not the only one who can do that." Naruto grinned. Kuro got back on his feet, dusting himself off.

"Impressive." Kuro stated and sped up to him swiping at him, Naruto was able to bend backwards, only narrowly avoiding the attack, "but not good enough." Kuro swiped down on Naruto's torso, creating three deep vertical scratches.

"Arghh!" Naruto cried out in pain as he rolled away from him, but Kuro didn't stop there. He followed up on his swipe by attempting to slash him, only to be blocked by Naruto's sandals, ruining them though. Before Kuro could attack again, Naruto jumped in the air in an attempt to avoid his attacks, but Kuro took control of the situation and swiped at Naruto, cutting and slashing him while also destroying his shirt. He fell to the ground, clothed in only his opera-length gloves and baggy black pants.

'_Damn, this guys good. I gotta take control of the fight._' Naruto thought. He launched himself at Kuro, but instead of attacking him, he made him look in his eyes, making him look at the red slit eyed boy.

"**Akuma no Yoru**." While Kuro was incapacitated, Naruto slammed his fist into his gut several times and kicked his face into the ground and jumped into the air, "**Akuma Sūpāpindoroppukirā!**" However, before he was able to land on Kuro, the former pirate captain was able to break himself out of the illusion and dodge the attack. Kuro then attempted to cut him from the back, but Naruto turned just in time to block it with his kunai, they jumped back away from each other and stood.

"I wonder, how did you do that illusionary technique?" Kuro asked, "An Akuma no Mi perhaps?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Naruto replied.

"Smart boy, not giving away anything." Kuro stated. Before Naruto could respond Kuro slammed his knee into his face, sending him to the bottom of the slope, just a few metres ahead of the pirates.

"That kid was so strong and scary, but he's getting beaten easily by our captain!" The crew cheered.

"Captain Kuro! Captain Kuro! Captain Kuro!" The crew cheered on.

"Silence! Don't call me that name!" He shouted, "You still don't understand? The purpose of this plan is to eliminate the name 'Captain Kuro' forever! I'm sick and tired making useless plans for you morons, that's why I decided to kill myself three years ago. To eliminate my name. Don't you understand kid? I've been planning for three years, my plan cannot fail!" Kuro rushed at the blonde boy.

"Baka." Naruto smirked as he grabbed a large boulder that had fallen from the cliffside during Buchi and Zoro's fight. Kuro thrust his cat claws straight into the boulder.

"Seems like you can do more than run." Kuro stated.

"Your plan had too many variables…like me!" Naruto pulled the boulder away, snapping the right-handed cat claws in the process.

"Wow! That kid!" The crew exclaimed.

"You said your tired and wanted 'peace of mind' and that you wanted to eliminate your name. If you're afraid of your name being known," Naruto slammed the boulder across the back of Kuro's head, "then don't be a pirate!"

"C-captain…" the crew mumbled.

"Captain Kuro don't worry! You still have one of the cat claws!" One of the crewmembers shouted.

"Hey don't call him that!" Another member scolded.

"Wasn't he known as Klahadududu?" A crewmember thought.

"Go Klaha!" They cheered.

"Shut up, the lot of you," Kuro ordered, "after this, you'll all die. Jango's no exception."

"What!?" The crew exclaimed.

"You don't have to worry about the plan, as long as your corpses are here I can blame it on you," Kuro told them, "I never intended for any of you to leave this town. It would be a disadvantage to me if anyone who knew my plan lived."

"From the very beginning!" They shouted.

"You guys are dumb, loser pirates." Luffy commented from the cliffside.

"Losers? A pirate crew is just a bunch of misfits gathered together. Without me and my planning they would be nothing! You should continue following my plans!" Kuro shouted, "In a pirate crew, the crewmembers are just pawns to the captains bidding! That means your life and death are in my hands! No matter what you have to obey my orders! That's the way of the pirate! A wandering brat wouldn't know that!" Kuro yelled.

"I can beat you." Naruto stated simply.

"Hahaha! Don't think that just because you've destroyed one of my cat claws I'm done!" Kuro disappeared and appeared behind him.

"You can't win." Naruto smirked and roundhouse kicked Kuro into the wall of the cliffside.

"The kid's able to see through his **Creeping Cat** technique!" The crew noted.

"You've insulted me," Kuro got out of the rubble, "I'll show you what a true pirate is," He got up and started swaying, "I'll show you the terror of a true pirate!"

"That stance!" The crew shouted.

"Why! Against one person!" They yelled.

"It's the **Shakushi!**" They screamed in terror.

"We aren't safe here!" They shouted.

"He's gonna kill us! It was his true intention from the beginning!" They screamed.

"C-c-captain we won't tell anyone! No one! Please let us go!" They pleaded.

"Please Captain!" They continued pleaded.

"Please don't use that technique!" They shouted.

"Anything but it!" They looked pathetic begging for their former captain to not kill them.

'_It doesn't look like much, but for them to be that scared…_' Naruto thought, not one to underestimate his opponent.

"**Shakushi!**" Kuro exclaimed, vanishing at speeds that not even Naruto could follow. There was a long period of silence and then.

"Argh!" The crew started screaming in pain as they were cut down one by one.

"What's going on!?" Naruto exclaimed. It wasn't just the crew that were being cut down, the rocks and cliffside around them were getting cut, and even his ship was getting cut.

"Captain Kuro! Please stop!" A crewmember pleaded in vain as he was cut down shortly after.

"It's no use! He's going so fast he can't even see who he's cutting!" That crewmember was killed as well. Nami had gotten the treasure from the ship and was watching in fear at what was going on below her.

'_W-what's going on! Everyone's getting massacred!_' She thought.

"Ahh! Please stop!" They continued pleading.

"Try to run or avoid if you can!" One by one, they kept dying.

"What the hell do you think your crewmembers are!?" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto?" Nami stated.

"Come on Naruto…beat this evil butler!" Luffy yelled. It wasn't short after this that Naruto was cut as well, there were now five horizontal lines going across his face, blood squirting out of them.

"Naruto!" Nami and Luffy shouted in worry.

"Heh! You've shown yourself!" Naruto grabbed Kuro before he could run away again and threw him to the ground, "You didn't hit my eyes, thanks to that I can still see."

"Bastard, you should've let me chop you up peacefully, because of you I stopped killing my crew, leaving them half dead and in pain," Kuro told him, the crew was moaning below them, "got something to say?"

"I'll never be a pirate like you." Naruto told him.

"You could never be a pirate like me," Kuro smirked, "you will die here." He started swaying again.

'_I better use it._' Naruto thought as he held out his right arm with his left hand holding onto it. It was now Luffy's turn to get excited.

'_Has he finally perfected it!?_' Luffy thought excitedly as he grinned madly.

"You say that you've been planning for three years," Naruto grinned as a sphere of energy started growing and spinning in his palm, "well I've been working on this technique for three years as well, perfecting it," Naruto held out his palm and revealed the spinning blue sphere of energy that was roughly the size of a fist picking up dust and around him, "like I said before, you can't beat me!"

"What is that?" Nami questioned.

"**Shakushi!**" Kuro exclaimed as he disappeared in a burst of speed, but he couldn't get very far as Naruto thrust the spinning orb of energy into his gut.

"**Rasengan!**" Naruto shouted, the technique that he had been working on for three years worked amazingly, it sent Kuro not up the slope, but through the slope, creating a tunnel of five metres. Kuro was out cold.

"Wow." Nami exclaimed.

"That was amazing!" Luffy cheered.

"That kid…" The crew murmured in disbelief.

"He…he killed Captain Kuro!" They cheered.

"Yeah!" They continued.

"Go kid! Your amazing!" They continued cheering until Naruto sent them a glare.

"I don't need your thanks." He told them.

"W-w-who the hell are you!? Not even a marine ship could defeat '100 Plans Kuro'!" The crew shouted.

"Uzumaki Naruto! I told him! He could never beat me!" Naruto announced.

"Na-Naruto? I've never heard of him." The crew discussed.

"You better remember that name! It'll be famous soon!" Naruto told them all, "Now take him back!" He threw Kuro down to the pirates, "And never come back!" The pirates screamed and ran back to their ship and attempted to set sail, even without the bow of the ship. Naruto started swaying like Kuro and then nearly fell to the ground, only to be caught by Luffy.

"Good job Naruto!" Luffy grinned and set him down on the ground.

"Yeah," Nami added when she came down to them, "I guess even you need to rest after a battle like that."

"Yeah, I guess…" Naruto sighed.

"That new attack, it took a lot of energy out of you didn't it?" Luffy asked.

"Yep, but after using it for a while I should get used to it." Naruto replied.

"I want some meat." Luffy stated out of the blue.

"Baka." Nami and Naruto sighed.

"You guys took care of him?" Zoro asked from the top of the slope with Usopp.

"Yeah, Naruto took care of him." Luffy replied. Zoro walked over and sat against the cliffside.

"Thank you all! Without you this town would've been overrun!" Usopp shouted.

"Of course, without us you couldn't do anything." Naruto joked at Usopp's expense.

**Café**

"Phew got it out!" Luffy exclaimed as he pulled out a piece of bone from his throat. They were celebrating their victory over the Black Cat Pirates. Nami had insisted that they put bandages on Naruto but he said that they would heal by themselves. Which they were already doing.

"Baka, we aren't meant to eat fish bones." Zoro told him.

"Well, we've eaten, we might as well get going." Nami said as they got up and paid the bartender. Just before they exited the bar, Kaya walked in.

"Hey ojousama!" Luffy greeted.

"Don't you need to stay in bed?" Nami asked.

"No, I've been weak due to my parents death but Usopp encouraged me. That's why I'm not so weak now, anyway I heard you guys need a ship!" Kaya told them.

"A ship!" Luffy beamed with excitement.

**Shore**

In front of the Straw Hat Pirates was a caravel; it had a lamb shaped figurehead and four cannons, one in the stern, one in the bow and two pointing to either side. It had one small back mast and a big mast in the centre.

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Hey…" Zoro stated.

"A caravel!" Nami exclaimed.

"Nice." Naruto smirked, the wounds on his face practically gone.

"I've been waiting for you. She's slightly old fashioned but I designed her myself. She's a caravel and uses a staysail; the controls are in the back. She's called the 'Going Merry'!" Merry explained.

"We can really take this!?" Luffy yelled in happiness.

"Yes, I insist." Kaya smiled.

"I'll explain the steering system," Merry started talking to Luffy, "in order to adjust the yards in relation to the crew garnet-"

"Explain it to me." Nami interrupted, seeing that Luffy had no idea what he was talking about.

"This is a cool ship!" Luffy shouted.

"I had everything you could need loaded onto the ship." Kaya assured them.

"Wahhh! Stop me!" A voice shouted from the top of the slope. The crew looked to see whom it was, it was Usopp.

"Usopp!" Kaya exclaimed.

"What's he doing?" Luffy asked.

"We better stop him, if he keeps going he'll hit the ship." Zoro told his captain. They both held their legs out and kept Usopp from going any further.

"T-thank you." Usopp thanked.

"No problem." Luffy replied.

"So your going out to sea as well are you Usopp?" Kaya asked.

"Yeah, I have to go before I change my mind, please don't stop me." Usopp told her.

"I won't, I figured you would leave as well. I am sad though." Kaya said to them.

"Don't worry, when I come back to this village I'll tell you stories that are more unbelievable than my lies!" Usopp grinned.

"Thank you, I look forward to it." Kaya smiled gracefully.

"Well, safe voyage! Hope to see you again some time!" Usopp farewelled the Straw Hats.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"We're both gonna be pirates so we might meet again on the high seas!" Usopp explained.

"What are you talking about? Hurry up and get on board." Zoro told him.

"What?" Usopp asked.

"You're already our nakama aren't you?" Luffy said. Usopp looked at them in shock, then that shock turned to happiness.

"I'm the captain right!" Usopp yelled.

"No way! I'm the captain!" Luffy shouted back. Usopp entered the crew and soon they set sail.

"To a new ship and a new nakama!" They cheered as they drank rum together in honour of their new friend.

**Town**

"Are you guys ready?" Piiman asked.

"Of course!" Tamanegi replied.

"We have to do this!" Ninjin added. And in unison they shouted.

"The pirates are coming! The pirates are coming!" The kids were going to continue to legacy of the long-nosed liar.

**Damn son! That took a long time! Sorry for the long wait, this took three-four weeks to write. A lot of technical troubles happened here and there, but I got through it!**

**Tama Tama no Mi = Soul Soul no Mi**

**Akuma sūpāpindoroppukirā = Demon Super Pin Drop Killer**

**So far, even with the difficulties, this has been the funniest chapter to write. Some of you may be wondering why the fight with Kuro seemed to go on longer than it could have. It's because I want to do villains justice. Weird, I know. I just wanted for Naruto to fight against someone roughly as strong as him. Speaking of Naruto, how'd you like the Rasegan? I just had to fit in in somewhere. And as for the story that he told about the Jūbi…that's a story for another time! :D**

**Anyways, thank you for the support and I'll see you again in Chapter Four!**


	4. Pirate Fleet Admiral Don Krieg

**Thanks for the support on the last chapter. Now! Onto the new chapter, entering the Baratie!**

"Alright!" Luffy exclaimed on the ship of the Straw-Hat Pirates, the crew had been trying to decide a design for their flag ever since they left Syrup Village, "This will be the design!" Luffy showed them all a drawing that you would think a five year old drew.

"Calling him artistically challenged would be an understatement." Usopp stated.

"Maybe it's abstract art?" Nami suggested.

"Pirate flags should be a symbol of death and this," Zoro took another look at the flag, "it's terrifying in its own way."

"Luffy." Naruto sighed.

"What'd ya think!?" Luffy grinned.

"Terrible! Lemme draw it!" Usopp told him and gathered some pencils, "Here!" He had drawn a new symbol perfectly, if it didn't look exactly like himself.

"You completely changed it!" Zoro and Luffy smacked up over the back of the head.

"Okay, okay." Usopp patted the back of his head and drew the symbol again.

"It looks perfect!" Nami exclaimed. It was like Luffy's drawing except…good.

"There we go!" Usopp exclaimed.

"It looks nothing like Luffy's old one." Zoro compared.

"Good! Draw it on the sail!" Luffy told him. And soon they were now a fully-fledged pirate crew, flag and all, "Alright! It's done! The Going Merry is ready for action!"

"Ah… I'm tired." Usopp panted due to the work it took to paint the sail. Nami lay next to him.

"I know…" Nami panted as well. They heard an explosion go off near the stern. They quickly turned and saw Luffy standing behind a cannon.

"What're you doing!?" Zoro yelled.

"Trying to shoot the cannon, but it isn't firing properly." Luffy answered.

"You're probably not doing it right." Naruto informed him.

"Let me do it," Usopp stood up and walked over to the cannon, "what were you trying to hit?"

"Those rocks over there." Luffy pointed to some rocks a considerable distance away.

"Okay!" Usopp started fiddling with the positioning of the cannon, "Judging from the distance, this should be good!" Usopp fired the cannon and it destroyed the rocks in one shot.

"Holy crap! You got it in one shot!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I know!" Usopp shouted, equally surprised, but then picked himself back up again, "I mean of course I did! I'm the best there is when it comes to aim! You can bow down before me and address me as captain!"

"I've decided! You can be our sniper!" Luffy told him, at this moment his stomach grumbled, "I'm hungry. Let's eat!" The crew gathered in the kitchen and ate what Kaya had stocked for them. While they were eating, Naruto was thinking heavily about his fight with Kuro.

'_Kuro was faster than me, we aren't even in the Grand Line yet there are still people that can run so fast that I can't even keep up with them,_' Naruto thought, '_if I hadn't used the Rasengan I would've lost for sure. I need to get faster, but how do I do it?_'

"Naruto, are you okay?" Nami asked, snapping Naruto out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Naruto responded.

"I've been thinking," Luffy started, "if we're going to the Grand Line there's another role that we really need filled."

"Yeah, we already have a fantastic kitchen." Nami added.

"An invaluable member for long journeys." Zoro nodded.

"Right! We need a musician!" Luffy grinned.

"Baka!" Zoro shouted.

"I thought you were gonna say something smart for once!" Nami yelled.

"Do you know what sailing is like!?" Usopp shouted.

"B-but a pirate's gotta sing!" Luffy defended.

"Come out you damn pirates! I'll slaughter all of you!" A voice shouted from the deck. Luffy rushed up to the deck and saw a man kicking barrels and trashing the ship.

"Who're you!?" Luffy shouted.

"Who am I? I should be asking you the same damn question!" The man yelled as he slashed his sword down, breaking some of the fences. Nami and Usopp were watching from the porthole.

"How many people are there?" Zoro asked.

"Only one I think." Usopp replied.

"Let Luffy handle it." He replied.

"I've killed countless of infamous pirates, yet a nameless person like you dares to attempt a murder on my partner!" He rushed at Luffy again.

"Partner?" Luffy questioned as he jumped over the oncoming attacker, grabbed his head on the way down and threw him against the deck, "I don't know who you are, but don't wreck my ship!"

"Ugh!" The attacker spat out some blood.

"Damn, what were you shouting about anyways?" Luffy asked. It was at this time that he could really look at the attacker. He was an average-sized man with somewhat tanned skin. He had a pair of sunglasses and had a black tattoo for 'sea' on his left check. He had short, black hair and was holding a nagiri sword with his right hand. He was wearing a dark blue jacket and black shirt with grey pants and brown shoes. Zoro opened the door to the kitchen and looked at the attacker.

"Johnny?" Zoro asked. The attacker looked up and saw Zoro, he jumped up immediately.

"Z-Zoro-aniki! Is it really you, aniki!?" The now identified Johnny exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's me." Zoro replied.

"Aniki! Something really bad has happened! Yosaku is sick!" Johnny shouted.

"Where's your ship?" Zoro asked.

"Just beside yours." Johnny answered.

"Bring him on." Zoro told him. Soon the entire crew was gathered around the sick man called Yosaku. He had a black shirt with a green coat and red headgear. He had plaid yellow shorts over unshaven legs and dark shoes. And like his partner he had a nagiri sword at his side.

"How did he get sick?" Naruto asked, taking on the role of temporary doctor.

"I don't know, he was fine just a few days ago, but all of sudden he became really pale and started passing out all the time! His teeth have been falling out! His old wounds have re-opened. We were resting on those rocks when we were shot at!" Johnny explained.

"S-sorry!" Usopp and Luffy apologized awkwardly.

"It's alright…Yosaku and Johnny, our names shook fear in even the most heartless pirates, we've lived and worked together as bounty hunters, how can it all end!?" Johnny exclaimed.

"Bakas." Naruto told them.

"What did you just say?" Zoro defended his bounty hunting partners.

"How dare you make fun of my friend's sickness kid!?" Johnny yelled at him.

"Oi, Luffy and Usopp go get some limes from the kitchen, squeeze them and bring the juices here." Naruto ordered, to which they did immediately.

"L-limes?" Johnny asked. The captain and sniper came back quickly and started feeding Yosaku the lime juice.

"He's got scurvy," Naruto informed them, "if we're not too late he should recover in a few days."

"A-are you telling the truth aniki!?" Johnny asked, ecstatic.

"Yeah." Naruto replied.

"Naruto are you a doctor?" Usopp asked.

"No, I know a bit of medical knowledge, but I'm not qualified enough to be considered a doctor." Naruto answered.

"Alright! I'm charged up on nutrients and ready to go!" Yosaku celebrated his recovery.

"Haha! My partner's fine!" Johnny exclaimed.

"You'll be down again soon if you keep jumping around like that." Naruto muttered.

"Sorry for the late introduction, the name's Johnny." Johnny introduced.

"And I'm Yosaku! Zoro-aniki used to bounty hunt with us!" Yosaku informed, "I don't know how to thank you, if it wasn't for you kid-aniki I would've died!"

"I never would've guessed that the infamous pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro would become a pirate himself!" Johnny laughed. Yosaku spat out a huge amount of blood, "Yosaku!"

"Get some rest," Naruto told them, he then turned to the rest of the crew; "let that be a lesson to all of you, if we don't watch our health we could die."

"We need to maintain a healthy diet so we don't contract something like scurvy." Nami told them.

"What we need is a cook!" Usopp told them.

"Okay! I've decided! We're gonna look for a sea cook, it's never bad to eat good food!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Aniki!" Johnny raised his hand like he was in school.

"What is it?" Zoro asked.

"If you're looking for a cook, I know the perfect place. But getting one to join you is a whole other matter," Johnny informed, "It's a sea restaurant!"

"Sea restaurant!?" The crew exclaimed.

"Yep! We should reach it in two to three days, but it's close to the Grand Line so we need to be careful," Johnny then leaned in, close to Zoro, "even the 'Hawkeyed Man' is seen to visit that place." Zoro grinned with some sweat.

"A restaurant on the seas!" The crew cheered, excited that they would get some food and hopefully a new nakama.

**That Night**

All was silent on the Going Merry. The only people who were still awake were Naruto, who was on guard duty, and Zoro, who was training on the deck. He had been training ever since Johnny told him of the 'Hawkeyed Man'; he had to be ready to fight.

"Your not gonna win." Naruto stated out of nowhere.

"What?" Zoro asked, wiping the sweat of his brow.

"Your training to fight Mihawk aren't you?" Naruto replied, still looking off into the distance sea.

"Yeah, what of it." Zoro answered, unsure of what the kid was getting at.

"If you fight him you'll lose," Naruto told him, "you'll probably die."

"How woudl you know!?" Zoro shouted in anger, refusing to have someone talk down on his dream, "If I win I'll have accomplished my dream."

"Do you honestly think you can win?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe-" Zoro replied.

"No," Naruto turned to face Zoro, "you have no chance in hell of winning. The only time you could ever win against him is if he was blind, only had one arm and dying. And even then you probably couldn't beat him." Zoro pushed Naruto against the railing and held a sword against his neck.

"Have you gotta problem with my dream!?" Zoro yelled.

"No, but the speed at which your going is what I've got a problem with," Naruto replied unfazed by the sword at his neck, "you've never even been to the Grand Line, your only a fish in a pond. Mihawk is a sea king in the ocean."

"And I suppose you've been to the Grand Line!?" Zoro yelled.

"I was born there." Naruto replied.

"You where?" Zoro asked, weakening his hold on his sword. Naruto saw this and ducked under the sword and pushed him to the ground.

"Get back to training." Naruto returned to his duty. Zoro gritted his teeth and got stuck back into his practice. He had to be ready to fight him. He would prove Naruto wrong.

**Baratie**

"We're here!" Johnny exclaimed, "Zoro-aniki! Luffy-aniki! Usopp-aniki! Naruto-aniki! Nami-aniki!"

"Why am I 'aniki'?" Nami questioned.

"Hm?" Zoro woke from his sleep.

"Oh!" Usopp exclaimed from the crow's nest.

"Ahhh!" Luffy exclaimed with child-like innocence.

"Cool." Naruto grinned at the sight before him. It was a large ship, it had an oval shape and had large masts at the bow and the stern and had a fish as the headpiece. It had a round bottom and a small array of cannons lined on the sides.

"What do you think everyone!?" The now healed Yosaku yelled.

"Wow!" Nami exclaimed.

"A huge fish!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

"Funky!" Usopp approved.

"Is anyone gonna notice the marines?" Naruto asked. The crew turned and saw a marine ship sailing beside them.

"When did they get there?" Luffy asked.

"A-are they gonna attack us?" Usopp stuttered.

"We aren't pirates!" Johnny yelled as he hid behind the railing.

"Someone's coming out." Yosaku told him. Out of the cabins came a marine in a white pinstripe suit. His pink hair was well combed and he had a scar under his right eye, he also had bolts attached to his knuckles.

"Hmm? Never seen that pirate flag before," The man said to himself, "I'm the lieutenant of the marine headquarters! I'm known as 'Ironfist Fullbody.' Who's your captain?"

"I'm Luffy! I made the pirate flag the day before yesterday!" Luffy introduced.

"And I'm Usopp!" Usopp introduced as well. Fullbody gazed over the crew before resting his eyes on Johnny and Yosaku.

"Wait a minute. I've seen you two before, you visit the government offices frequently," Fullbody told them, "If I remember correctly, you're small time bounty hunters. Yosaku and Johnny I believe."

"Hey, Yosaku, I think he's talking down to us." Johnny told Yosaku.

"We can't just let some guy call us 'small time' can we? We outta teach him a lesson!" Yosaku replied. The duo leapt at the marine with their swords pulled back.

"You cocky little prick!" They yelled in unison. Fullbody raised an eyebrow at their antics. In only a few moments they were both on the deck of the Going Merry in a bloody mess.

"H-He's pretty good." Johnny murmured.

"Y-y-yeah." Yosaku replied.

"You guys are really weak." Luffy noted.

"H-he's just really s-strong." Johnny argued.

"I-it was a close f-f-f-fight." Yosaku replied.

"Darling, enough beating up people. Let's get going already." A woman's voice came from the cabin.

"Ah yes, let's do that," Fullbody stated, "consider yourselves lucky pirates. I only came here to eat. But if you run into me when I'm off duty, you're dead." All around Johnny were sheets of paper, some with crosses in them.

"What's all this, Johnny?" Nami asked as she picked one up.

"Oh those? They're just bounty posters, aniki," Johnny replied, "if you kill any of them you get the reward on the poster." Nami was shaking and gripping the poster tightly, "Is something wrong?"

"N-no." Nami placed the poster down. Naruto looked at what she was looking at. It was blue man with a long, pointy nose.

"Guys, we're in trouble!" Usopp yelled, "The bastard's aiming his cannon at us!"

"What!? He lied to us!" Yosaku exclaimed.

"Sink them." Fullbody ordered an officer.

"Yes sir." The officer replied without hesitation, he lit the cannon and fired.

"Ahh!" Usopp shouted in fear. Luffy jumped onto of the railing and inhaled.

"Leave it to me!" Luffy reassured them.

"What're you doing Luffy-aniki!" Johnny exclaimed.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy inhaled, "**Fussen!**" The cannonball hit Luffy dead centre got sent back at Fullbody.

"What the hell!?" Usopp, Johnny and Yosaku shouted in surprise.

"Have it back!" Luffy grinned.

"Wha!?" Fullbody exclaimed.

"Dumbass! Who're you sending it to!" Zoro smacked him over the back of the head. Luffy looked up and he realised that he sent the cannonball into the Baratie.

"Wha!?" Luffy yelled.

"Baka." Naruto sighed.

"Ugh…" Nami pinched the bridge of her nose.

**Inside the Baratie**

"Look the one sitting over there is Lt. Fullbody…" 

"Look how graceful he is…"

"No way, a marine lieutenant is eating here?" The customers were all discussing the arrival of the lieutenant.

"Amazing you're the centre of attention." A beautiful woman who was dining with Fullbody stated.

"No, no, I'm sure they're all looking at you," Fullbody said sweetly, he smelt the wine delicately, "mm! This scent! It must be from micqueot of the northern lands! And this slight sourness mixed with a thick, dry taste…this wine must be…itelzbulger stein! Am I wrong waiter!?"

"Not even close," the waiter said. He was a slim, young man with long legs. He had blond hair and it brushed over the left side of his face. The most distincitive trait was his eyebrow. His right eyebrow formed a spiral at the outer end. He had jet black eyes. He wore a black, double-breasted suit with a tie and a long-sleeved, buttoned turquoise pinstripe shirt, "and by the way. I'm actually the assistant head chef. I'm only temporarily filling in for the waiters who all ran off yesterday, here's your soup sir. Enjoy it while it's still hot!" The man known as Sanji placed both bowls in front of them. The customers started to giggle at the lieutenant's expense.

"H-hey doesn't laugh."

"B-but he was so sure of himself! Pfft!"

"Are you knowledgeable?" The woman asked.

"Hmm?" Fullbody questioned.

"With wine I mean." She continued.

"Yes, yes. My tongue must be a bit off today." The lieutenant lied.

'_What the hell's going on!? I specifically asked the owner to bring out that wine for me!'_ Fullbody thought. In another part of the Baratie, specifically the part that got hit by the cannonball, the cooks were running around in frenzy.

"Owner! Are you alright!?" One of the cooks asked.

"Do you think I'm alright!? Enough yapping! Get back to work!" The supposed owner yelled back.

"B-but sir! You body's…" the cook started to say.

"Are you trying to make me angry!?" The owner shouted back, "Are you planning on ruining my restaurant. Bakas!" The owner was an elderly man who had blonde hair covered by his extra-long chef's hat. He had a considerably long moustache and a beard. He wore a chef's uniform, with a blue ascot and a white apron. He also had a peg leg to replace his right leg, Two cooks burst through the doors holding Luffy.

"Sir! We brought the one responsible for this mess!" The cook held up Luffy.

"I'm so sorry!" Luffy apologized; he then saw the man's wooden leg, "Gyaaa! You lost your foot because of me!"

"Baka! I lost this a long time ago!" The owner yelled, "Your gonna have to pay for damages!"

"But I don't have any money." Luffy replied.

"Then your gonna have to work it off." The owner Zeff replied.

"Sure. I'll make it up to you." Luffy guaranteed.

"You'll work odd jobs around my restaurant without pay for one year. Only then will I forgive you." Zeff explained.

"A year!" Luffy exclaimed.

**Dining Hall**

"Ooh waiter!" Fullbody exclaimed.

"I already told you I'm not a waiter," Sanji told the cocky lieutenant, "my, my. What a beautiful lady we have here. A pleasure to meet you miss."

"Hey! Is it customary for this restaurant to serve it's soup with insects!?" Fullbody exclaimed, sure that his insect would work in embarrassing the assistant head chef, "What's with this damn bug in my soup!"

"I'm sorry sir. I'm not very knowledgeable about insects." Sanji replied, not falling for his trick. The entire room was filled with giggles at Fullbody's expense.

"Kyaa!" The marine brought down his fist on the table, splitting it apart, "Seems like you have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Now, now sir. Can't you still eat as long as I remove the bug?" Sanji tried to reason.

"What did you say!?" Fullbody exclaimed, "I'm a paying customer! Your pretty full of yourself!"

"Fullbody, stop! Forgive him please!" His date pleaded.

"Can money… fill you stomach?" Sanji asked ominously.

"We have to stop him!" The other cooks yelled.

"Get ready!" Fullbody launched himself at Sanji. All of the customers feared for Sanji. But less than half a minute later Sanji was holding the lieutenant by the head a few inches off the ground.

"Fullbody…" The woman murmured. Sanji glared at the battered, beaten lieutenant in his hand.

"Don't you dare waste food." Sanji stated.

**With Zeff and Luffy**

"Make it one week." Luffy demanded.

"What'd you say punk? You think that you can cause so much damage to my restaurant and make it up in only one week?" Zeff questioned, "You're working one year and that's final!"

"No way! I waited ten years to become a pirate! I'm not waiting another year!" Luffy shouted, "I'm working one week and then you'll have to forgive me!"

"Who gave you this right to decide this!?" Zeff sent Luffy into the wall via one of his powerful kicks, "I'm the one who'll decide whether I forgive you or not."

"But you're perfectly fine." Luffy told him.

"Shut up!" Zeff yelled.

"C'mon! Don't make me work a year!" Luffy begged.

"Fine…if you really want to, I'll tell you a faster way to get out of here," Zeff pulled out a hack-saw from seemingly nowhere, "you'll have to chop off one of your legs!"

"What!? No way!" Luffy refused.

"You think you can make it in this world by only saying no!? Brat!" Zeff jumped over Luffy, "**Head Chef Drop Kick!**"

**Dining Hall**

"What!? The customer!" A cook yelled. He was muscular and had lots of hair on his arms and legs. He had a shaved head, large lips, and a short black beard. He wore a navy blue short-sleeved shirt with yellow buttons on both sides. He had knee-length shorts that were the same colour as his shirt, along with brown shoes. He wore a white apron, a pink ascot, and an earring in his right ear and a white rope tied around his head. He had two heart tattoos on his left arm, "Sanji!? What the hell are you doing to the customer!? A marine lieutenant no less!"

"Hm? Oh, just the shitty cook, Patty," Sanji acknowledged the cook, "Don't use my name so casually."

"I ain't gonna stand by and let an even shittier cook call me a shitty cook!" Patty exclaimed, "It's our duty to serve our customers. How can you explain hurting our precious customer?"

"So what? He wasted our food and insulted me! I was only teaching him a lesson." Sanji explained.

"W-what's with this place…!? How can there be a restaurant that ill-treats its customers to this extent…!?" The bloody Fullbody yelled, "I'll close this place down! I'll report it to the government!"

"You're gonna report us?" Sanji asked, "Well, then I guess I've got no choice but to kill you."

"Wha!?" Fullbody exclaimed.

"No! Stop him!" The cooks shouted as they went to hold Sanji down.

"Hold him down!"

"Stop Sanji! You've made your point!" 

"It makes me so angry!" Sanji yelled, "To see a spoiled son of a bitch like you! Who the hell do you think you are!?" Sanji glared darkly at Fullbody.

'_W-whats with this guy!?_' Fullbody thought. Before the situation could get too heated, Zeff and Luffy came crashing down from the upper floors.

"Ugh…" Zeff held his head.

"Wow, that was scary!" Luffy grinned.

"Shit! The ceiling of my beautiful restaurant!" Zeff exclaimed as he looked up at the ceiling, "This is all your fault! Damn brat!"

"You did it yourself!" Luffy yelled back.

"Sir! Please stop Sanji!" One of the cooks shouted. Zeff looked around and saw a group of cooks attempting to hold down Sanji.

"Sanji! Are you running wild in my restaurant?" Zeff asked.

"Shut up, shitty geezer." Sanji muttered.

"It's exactly as it seems sir! And this time, Sanji beat up some idiot marine lieutenant!" Patty informed.

"Are you trying to ruin my restaurant!? Little shit!" Zeff yelled as he kicked Sanji across the face with his wooden peg.

"Isn't that the guy who fired the cannon?" Luffy noted as he looked at Fullbody.

"Get outta my restaurant!" Zeff kicked the marine lieutenant to the ground.

"Gyaa!" Fullbody exclaimed.

'_Even the owner!_' Fullbody thought, '_Do they know who I am!? This barbaric and violent nature! It's just like a pirate ship! Are these guys really cooks!'_

"Lieutenant Fullbody!" A marine appeared in the doorway, "It's an emergency! Sir! He's escaped from the ship's prison! The underling of the pirate Krieg has escaped! He's gone!"

"Impossible! He shouldn't even have the strength to move!" Fullbody shouted.

"A member of K-Krieg's crew?" The customers were getting scared.

"The same Krieg whose crew is the strongest in the East Blue!?" 

"I-I wanna go!"

"Please forg-" Before the marine could finish he was shot in the back, "Kyaa!"

"A customer coming this way." Patty informed.

"He better not start any trouble." Zeff warned.

"A pirate?" Luffy asked. The man who shot the marine walked past Fullbody and the others and sat down on one of the chairs with one leg on the table.

"Anything will do, this is a restaurant isn't it?" The man was thin and had short, scruffy, black hair with a scruffy beard and a slight moustache. He looked as if he lacked sleep as he had dark circles under his eyes. He wore an open white jacket with a red sea-serpent design on each side with a green shirt underneath, white pants matching his jacket, a grey headband with blue stripes and two spherical earrings on each ear.

"Welcome, you squid-faced bastard!" Patty welcomed the pirate.

"W-what!?" The customers were shocked by the cook's audacity.

"I'm only gonna say this once. I'm a customer, so bring me some food!" The man ordered.

"That cook is dead." Fullbody muttered.

"Pardon me dumbass, but do you have any money?" Patty asked, to which the man held a flintlock pistol at his head.

"Do you accept lead?" He asked with a cocky smirk on his face.

"So you don't have any money." Patty concluded. Unfazed by the pistol, Patty slammed his giant hands down on the man, splitting the chair and table in two.

"What!?" Fullbody exclaimed.

"Damn it Patty! Stop breaking everything!" Zeff chided.

"Woah, he's pretty strong." Luffy noted.

"If you can't pay the bill, you aren't a customer!" Patty yelled. The customers cheered for him.

"Nice going!"

"Yeah!"

"Show him who's boss!" The pirate's stomach rumbled loudly.

"Oh, are you hungry?" Patty sneered.

"No, I was just farting bastard, now bring me some food!" The hungry man ordered.

"If you can't pay you aren't a customer! Get the hell outta here!" Patty started stomping on the pirate, "This restaurant serves paying customers! Not broke-ass pirate scum like you!"

"I've had enough of this restaurant." Fullbody crawled out of the dining hall, refusing to deal with any more nonsense. Once the man was damaged enough that he could hardly talk, Patty threw him out of the restaurant.

"Now then, ladies and gentlemen! Enjoy the rest of your meals!" The customers clapped and applauded Patty. The man was leaning against one of the rails around the other side of the ship, having escaped the cooks. A plate of rice and a glass of water was placed in front of him.

"Eat." Sanji ordered as he too leaned up against the railing. The pirate didn't have to be told twice as he immediately went started gulping down the food.

"I don't know what to say. I've never had such delicious food in my entire life," The man was failing in his attempt to hold back his tears, "I'm so grateful!"

"It's pretty good right?" Sanji grinned. Unbeknownst to them, a certain straw-hat wearing pirate was observing them from the above rail.

"Shishi! I've found a good cook!" Luffy cheered, "Lucky! You got some food!" Sanji and the pirate looked up at the to him.

"Huh?" Sanji questioned.

"You almost died before! Shishishi! Hey! Cook! Join my crew!" Luffy jumped down to the rail that they were leaning on.

"Oh…you're a pirate? Why'd you try to fire a cannonball at us?" Sanji asked.

"That was just an accident! It was self-defence!" Luffy argued.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sanji asked, "Nevermind. But you better not try anything funny while you're here. The owner of this place used to the cook of a pretty infamous pirate crew. This restaurant's like a treasure to him."

"A treasure?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, and the cooks who work here are hot-blooded and crude enough to be pirates." Sanji explained.

"It must be pretty noisy here." Luffy noted.

"Yeah…but it's daily routine for us," Sanji replied, "in fact, some of the customers come here just to see us beat up some pirates. Because of all the pirates the waiters ran away though."

"Ohhh, so that's why he asked for me to work here for a year," Luffy reasoned, "whatever. Join my crew!"

"Sorry, I'll have to refuse." Sanji told him.

"No! I refuse!" Luffy yelled back.

"What?" Sanji asked.

"I refuse your refusal! You're a good cook so you'll be my cook!" Luffy shouted.

"Hey at least hear me out." Sanji said.

"Fine, what's your reason?" Luffy asked.

"No reason to tell you." Sanji muttered.

"But you just told me to hear you out!" Luffy yelled.

"All I meant was that you should hear other people's opinions when talking! Don't make me chop you up! Damn straw-hat wearing shithead!" Sanji shouted right in Luffy's face.

"What'd you say!? I'll send you flying!" Luffy threatened.

"Sorry to cut in but-" The pirate started.

"What is it!?" Luffy and Sanji yelled.

"My name's Gin. I'm a member of the Krieg Pirates," The now known Gin introduced, "you said you're a pirate. What's your objective?"

"I'm gonna find One Piece! " Luffy revealed.

"If you're still looking for a cook, I guess you don't have many people in your crew yet, right?" Gin asked.

"With him, it makes five!" Luffy told him.

"Don't count me in!" Sanji yelled.

"You seem nice enough. Let me give you a piece of advice," Gin told the pirate captain, "give up on going to the Grand Line. You're young. You don't need to recklessly rush into things. Besides the Grand Line is just one part of all the oceans in this world. There are plenty of other seas for you to roam out there."

"You know something about the Grand Line?" Luffy asked.

"No…I don't…I don't know anything! That's why it's so terrifying!" Gin answered.

"For a member of Krieg's crew, you sure are acting pretty cowardly." Sanji noted.

"Who's Krieg?" Luffy asked.

"He's the strongest man in all of the East Blue," Gin explained, "He controls a giant pirate armada."

"So he's pretty strong." Luffy reasoned.

"Yeah," Gin replied, "anyway, Sanji. Is it alright if I could have a small sail boat, just to get back to my captain?"

"I suppose so." Sanji answered as he got up and dusted himself off. He pulled up a boat near the railing that Gin jumped in.

"Seya later," Gin waved, "and kid don't forget that I did warn you."

"I'm still gonna go to the Grand Line!" Luffy shouted back.

"Yeah, it's not like I have the right to stop you anyway," Gin replied, "and Sanji. Thanks so much for the food, you're my saviour. It really was the beast meal I've ever had. Would it be alright if I come here again?"

"Sure, anytime." Sanji smirked.

"Errand-boy!" A voice shouted from above them, "So that's where you were!" The voice was that of the owner Zeff.

"Agh! Old man!" Luffy shouted in surprise. Zeff looked at the pirate and saw some a bowl, cutlery and a glass. He was able to put the pieces together.

"Go Gin." Sanji ordered.

"Sorry…because of me you're going to get scolded." Gin apologized.

"Pardon me?" Sanji threw the utensils along with the bowl and glass over the railing and into the water, "How can I be scolded, if there's no evidence? Don't get caught again, Gin!" Gin bowed and set sail in the direction of his captain.

"Sanji! Errand-boy! Get back to work!" Zeff ordered.

**Kitchen**

"I'm Luffy! Starting today I'm the errand-boy!" Luffy introduced in the hallway. He looked around the kitchen; he was never any good at cooking so he wasn't sure what he was meant to do. He sat down on one of the chairs and listened to all of the conversations talking place.

"Is table six's dessert still not done!"

"Who took the order for that!?" 

"Wasn't it you!?"

"Can't you see I'm busy!?"

"Yeah, busy spacing out!"

"The hell you say to me!" Eventually they noticed the lack of anything going on from Luffy.

"If you've got nothing to do, at least wash some dishes!"

"Okie-dokie." Luffy agreed as he walked over to the sink.

"Where's Sanji?"

"He's hitting on the customers in the dining hall."

"Again! For God's sake…"

"It sickens me to see a guy like him is the assistant head chef."

"Well, what're you going to do? He's been here the longest."

"Do you know why he stays here?"

"He's trying to become the next head chef right?" The cooks then noticed that instead of washing the dishes, Luffy was breaking them.

"How many plates have you broken already!?" Patty shouted.

"Ah, my bad. I forgot to keep count." Luffy apologized.

"You're not meant to count in the first place!" Patty yelled, "Go clean up instead!"

"You can count on me!" Luffy said as he grabbed the broom and started to eat some of the food meant for the customers.

"Oh God! That was the main dish!"

"Delicious!" Luffy grinned, "I'll clean the pot," Luffy walked over to the pot with a cloth in his hand, he tried to pick it up but, "Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!"

"Just get outta the kitchen!"

"You're gonna talk the orders, okay?" Patty ordered, "Simple. Just ask what they want and come back here."

"Sounds easy enough." Luffy replied as he exited the kitchen.

"Being an errand-boy is tough. Coby must've had a hard time too," Luffy noted, "Hm? Ack! It's you guys!" Sitting on one of the tables waiting for their order, was the Straw-Hat Pirates.

"Hey errand-boy." Nami greeted.

"Working hard?" Naruto smirked.

"Heard you had to work here for a year." Usopp told him.

"Is it alright to redraw the ship's flag?" Zoro asked.

"You leave me here to work! And go off and eat delicious food all by yourselves! Selfish!" Luffy shouted.

"Damn, he noisy. Are those his crewmates?" Sanji asked across the dining hall.

"Hm, eat this." Luffy picked his nose and put a booger in Zoro's drink.

"We're pirates we can do whatever we want," Zoro replied, not noticing the crew trying to hold in their laughter, "the food here is great, don't take this the wrong way, but," he grabbed his glass and forced Luffy to drink it, "you're drinking this!" Luffy fell the floor clutching his throat.

"Ack! How could you do this to me!?" Luffy asked as he rolled around.

"I should ask you the same thing!" Zoro replied.

"O'blessed are the oceans for bringing me this fine day! O'love! Laugh if you will, at my poor self who cannot endure his tortuous passions!" Sanji exclaimed, as he appeared behind Luffy, "As long as I can be with you, I'm prepared to walk across any path, be it the paths of a pirate or a devil But alas! 'Tis tragic there is such a great obstacle standing between the two of us!" Sanji started talking to Nami with hearts in his eyes. Naruto didn't know why, but this made him feel…strange, to say the least.

"By obstacle, do you mean me?" Zeff asked as he emerged from the kitchen.

"Agh! Geezer!" Sanji exclaimed.

"This is a good chance, go and be a pirate," Zeff encourage him, "I don't need a guy like you here at all."

"Wha? I'm the assistant head chef, what'd you mean I'm not needed?" Sanji asked.

"You cause too much trouble with the customers, and when if they happen to be female you drool over them," Zeff explained, "you also can't cook a decent meal to save your life. You're just unnecessary baggage, holding us down. You're the weakest link. None of the other cooks want you here as well. Whether or not you're a pirate it's just good for you to get the hell out of my shop."

"That's what you wanted to say to me?" Sanji asked as he grabbed Zeff's collar, "I won't stand for someone insulting my cooking! I'm staying here! Got that!?"

"How dare you grab the collar of the head chef!" Zeff grabbed Sanji and threw him into the table.

"Damn…" Sanji muttered as he picked himself up, "you can try to chase me out all you want! But I'm gonna keep working here until the day you die! At the very least!"

"I ain't dying," Zeff replied, "I'll live for another hundred years."

"Shishi! He gave you permission. Now you can be my cook!" Luffy laughed.

"As if!" Sanji shouted back, he then appeared behind Nami with some wine and a bowl of fruit, "Forgive me for that ruckus now. As an apology, please enjoy-"

"Oi," Naruto gained attention to himself, "waiter, can you get us some food?"

"Yeah, what about us!? Gender discrimination! I'll sue!" Usopp argued.

"I already gave you some tea! At least say thanks!" Sanji replied.

"You wanna fight!? Go get him Naruto!" Usopp demanded.

"Fight him yourself." Naruto muttered in a lazy mood as he rested his chin on the table.

"Is something wrong?" Nami asked.

"No," Naruto answered, "just hungry."

"You haven't even cleared my plate yet!" Usopp pointed out.

"There are still mushrooms! Finish it off!" Sanji demanded.

"I left them on purpose! I was poisoned by some as a kid!" Usopp explained.

"Well they aren't poison so eat it!" Sanji yelled back.

"Please don't fight over me!" Nami said, taking advantage of Sanji's weakness to women.

"Anything for you miss!" Sanji immediately

"No one's fighting over you!" Usopp yelled.

"By the way Mr. Cook," Nami cupped his face, "the food here is a tad expensive."

"Then it shall be free of charge!" Sanji stated.

"Thank you so much!" Nami hugged him.

"You're paying though." He told the rest of the crew as he walked off.

"You're pretty manipulative you know that?" Naruto told her.

"I just like to get what I want, I'm not that bad." Nami giggled.

"Hey errand-boy! The hell are you sitting around and drinking tea for!?" Sanji shouted as he kicked Luffy on the head, "Bring out some hot towels when the customers are in."

"Yes sir." Luffy mumbled.

**2 Days Later**

"It's Don Krieg's Pirate ship!" The customers peered out the window of the Baratie to see infamous flag of the Krieg pirates.

"A skull with two hourglasses at its side, to threaten their enemies!"

"There's no doubt about it! That's Krieg's flag! Why is he here!?"

"This is real bad! We should run away!" Usopp advised.

"Aniki! Let's set sail! I don't wanna die!" Johnny and Yosaku pleaded.

"It'll be fun." Naruto grinned.

"Wow! That's a huge ship! Gin must've come here to repay the favour!" Luffy reasoned.

"Somehow I don't think that's the case." Sanji replied.

"Why'd you say that?" Luffy asked.

"That ship! It's in ruins!" In front of them was a large galleon ship, almost triple the size of the Baratie. The figurehead was that of a sabre tooth tiger and it had a large mast in the middle. The only thing that was wrong with it was that it was completely destroyed. Making it look like a ghost ship, "To turn a massive galleon of that size into that sad state…who could've done that?" All of a sudden the doors to the dining hall flew open, flying off its hinges. Revealing a bulky, large man.

"Sorry for intruding…but could I have some water…and food? If it's money want…I've got plenty." There, standing in the doorway, was one of, if not the most, infamous men in all of the East Blue. Don Krieg. He had short cut grey hair and long sideburns. He also had a gauze wrapped around his head and he had a fur-lined captain's coat.

"Wha? That weak looking guy is Krieg?" Patty asked.

"He looks like he's starving." Luffy noted.

"Wonder what happened." Sanji said. Without any warning, Krieg suddenly fell to the ground.

"Don Krieg!" Gin yelled in shock for his captain, "Please! I'm begging you! Please give him some food and water! Please save my captain! He'll die at this rate!"

"Hahahah! Perfect! Just perfect! This is the infamous Don Krieg!?" Patty laughed

"We have money this time! We're paying customers!" Gin explained.

"Hey! Get the marines immediately!" Patty ordered, "This is the perfect chance to arrest him and teach him a lesson. And don't let him have any scraps of food!" The customers agreed.

"Yeah! Who knows what he'll do when he gets back on his feet!"

"This is retribution for all the crimes he's committed!"

"It's only right that he dies after all that he does!"

"If he recovers he'll attack the restaurant!"

"I ain't giving him a single drop of water! None at all!"

"I…I won't…do anything if you give ...me some water…and food," Krieg pleaded, "So please…please…help me!" He bowed his head to Patty.

"D-Don't Krieg stop! A man such as you shouldn't be lowering his head to anyone! It's too shameful!" Gin told him.

"I'm begging you…I don't mind if it's leftovers or even the scraps. Please! Just give me anything!" Don Krieg pleaded.

"Hmph, trying to get some sympathy out of us?" Patty asked.

"Hey Patty, move," Sanji warned just before he kicked him in the side of the head, "here, Gin. Give this to him." He handed him a plate of food with some sauce.

"Sanji!" Gin exclaimed, happy to see someone who would help.

"Thank you!" Krieg immediately started digging into the food, not caring that he had to use his hands.

"Sanji! Take that food back at once!" One of the cooks stated, "Do you have any idea what kind of man he is!? He's the ruler of the East Blue! The king of deception! He's attacked ports, towns and other ships! Sometimes he even bares the white flag, only to attack his enemies by surprise! He'll stoop to anything to win! His strength isn't an exaggeration either! It'll be better for the world if that man were to starve to death!" Before Sanji could reply, the Don grabbed him by the head and threw him down. Shocking the entire restaurant, even Gin.

"D-Don Krieg! You promised you wouldn't harm this restaurant!" Gin shouted, to which Krieg grabbed his shoulder and started squeezing it, "Gyaaa!"

"Ahh. That was a delicious meal. I'm back to my normal self again. Good," Krieg looked around the restaurant, "this is a good restaurant. I'll take it."

"Agh! Sanji! I told you, this is the real Krieg! He's gonna take our ship!" The cook declared. The cooks started to gather up the customers and take them to one of the boats docked near the Baratie in order to get them out of the soon to be warzone.

"Get on the boat!"

"We've gotta get out of here!"

"We'll get surrounded!"

"Don Krieg…what about your promise…?" Gin questioned, practically crying.

"Gin! Are you alright!?" Luffy asked.

"Hmph," Don Krieg held his cocky smirk, "my ship's wrecked and I've been wanting a new one for a long time. I have around a hundred subordinates on my ship; they're all starving and critically wounded. Prepare enough food and water to feed a hundred people. And make it quick."

"We can't just prepare food for a hundred people, knowing that you'll attack us after!" The cooks shouted

"Seems like we have a bit of a misunderstanding," Krieg glared at them, "I'm not asking you, I'm ordering you!"

"S-Sanji…I'm sorry…I…never intended for things to turn out this way." Gin apologized.

"Bastard Sanji! It's all because of you we're in this mess!" Patty proclaimed, he then saw Sanji start walking away from the rest of the cooks, "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?"

"To the kitchen, where else would I go?" Sanji answered.

"What!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"Sanji!?" Gin shouted.

"Sanji." Luffy stated. All of a sudden all of the cooks encircled Sanji and pulled out pistols and pointed them at him.

"Who the hell do you think you are Sanji!? Krieg's secret agent or something!?"

"We ain't gonna let you take one step in the kitchen!"

"We've had enough of your insane and reckless actions!" Sanji smirked and held his arms out.

"Fine, if you wish. Shoot me. I know that they don't deserve to be fed. But none of that matters. It's a cook's duty to feed the hungry. Is that alright!?" Sanji questioned, to which Patty smashed him against the back of the head sending him to the floor.

"Hold him down!" Patty demanded, "Sanji! I know you feed the customers that I chase away! I've turned a blind eye to it, but this time I'm not going to let you do it! I'll protect this restaurant myself if I have to! Fortunately we only have Krieg to deal with alone. Even if he's strong what can he do against all of us!?" He turned around and pulled out a lobster-shaped bazooka from underneath one of the tables, "If you're finished with your meal, here's the dessert! **Shokuatari Meatball!**" Patty fired the bazooka and sent a cannonball into Don Krieg's stomach.

"Don!" Gin cried out.

"Agh, damn it. I ended up destroying the entrance. The owner's gonna be pissed at me." Patty sighed.

"It's fine. It's just some collateral damage from protecting the restaurant…he'll be fine with it." One of the cooks told him.

"What're you planning to do with his underlings?" Sanji asked.

"Well, maybe we should butter up his ship and set it on fire." Patty joked.

"That's the best dessert you can make? Lousy cook." A voice came from the rubble.

"Wha!?" Patty exclaimed.

"Serving a pile of crap for dessert. This is worst restaurant I've ever been to." The dust revealed Don Krieg clad in golden wootz steel armour, which was fur-linded like the rest of his attire. The armour consisted of a chest plate, shoulder guards, torso guard, and elbow guards. His Jolly Roger was painted on each shoulder guard.

"Woah! His body's all gold and shiny!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Bastard and his armour! Get him!" Patty ordered as he and the rest of the cooks charged at him with giant cutlery, "Let's go!"

"Annoying pricks!" Krieg exclaimed as he revealed multiple pistols from underneath his shoulder guards, chest plate and torso guard, along with the ones he carried around.

"Agh!" The cooks cried out in pain as the Don shot at them several times.

"Guns!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"From all over his body!" Sanji pointed out. Gin was holding his head in an attempt to keep down the tears.

"You think you can defy me!? I'm the strongest! This steel arm is more powerful than anything else! This body of steel is tougher than anything else!" He pulled off his glove to reveal a diamond-incrusted fist, "And this diamond fist can pulverise anything! My entire body is a weapon! I'm the fleet admiral of fifty ships and the commander of five thousand men! I've never lost a battle! So if I tell you to prepare food for my men, shut up and do it! Nobody goes against the Don!" While he was talking Zeff walked up to him and dropped a large sack in front of him.

"Owner Zeff!" The cooks cried.

"There's enough food here to feed a hundred people, hurry up and bring it to your men." Zeff told him.

"Did…did they just say…Zeff?" Krieg questioned.

"Sir! How could you give them food! What's the meaning of this!?" The cooks questioned.

"That's only if they have any fighting spirit left," Zeff replied to the confusion of the cooks, "isn't that right? Defeated warriors of the Grand Line."

"W-what!? Don Krieg defeated!" The cooks started shouting.

"The strongest man of the East Blue!"

"The pirate fleet admiral of fifty ships!"

"Even he was utterly defeated by the Grand Line!"

"Grand Line!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"You're Red-Leg Zeff!" Krieg exclaimed as he stared at Zeff, "I never would've thought that you're still alive. The peerless captain and cook of his own crew."

"And? So what if I'm alive?" Zeff asked, "I've got nothing to do with you. I'm a mere cook now."

"Hahaha…interesting to hear it like that, but from what I can see. You didn't become a cook by choice, there's nothing else you can do," Don Krieg explained, "the way you are now, you can't even wear your infamous 'red shoes'. Red-Leg Zeff, the master of kicking who refused to use his hands in battle. A pirate whose destructive kicks could pulverise bedrock and leave a clear imprint even in steel. Your name is Red-Leg because the blood of your enemies would soak your shoes. While I've heard rumours that you died, it seems you're still alive, even at the cost of one of your legs, without it you shouldn't be able to fight anymore. Well not very well at least."

"I may not be able fight very well, but I can still cook," Zeff replied, "what are you getting at exactly?"

"Red-Leg Zeff! The man who once sailed the waters of the Grand Line, and return without an injury! You must've kept a log during your time in the Grand Line. What I'm getting at is…hand that log over to me!" Krieg demanded.

"Cool! You've been to the Grand Line!" Luffy exclaimed.

"You're right. I do have a log; I've kept it to this day. But I'm not handing it over to you," Zeff responded, "That log is the pride of me and my men who ventured the Grand Line bravely together as a crew. It's way too valuable to give to the likes of you!"

"Then I'll steal it!" Don shouted, "It's true I was defeated on the Grand Line, but that was from lack of information! I'm still the mighty Don Krieg! I simply didn't know enough! If I steal you log it will reveal the secrets of the Grand Line and allow me to sail through it easily!"

"Hell no!" The cooks protested.

"If we lose the Baratie, we don't have anywhere to go!"

"This place is the only place to take us in!"

"Owner Zeff is the only one who accepted us!"

"You pirates aren't stealing our home!'

"Silence!" Krieg commanded in a regal manner, "The difference in strength between us is clear as day and night! Don't you dare forget! I'm the strongest! Once I obtain Zeff's log, I will return to the Grand Line, find the One Piece and become the Pirate King!"

"Hold up!" Luffy announced, "The one who'll be the Pirate King is me!"

"E-Errand-boy!" The cooks cried.

"Back down errand-boy! You'll die!" Patty cried.

"Luffy…" Sanji mumbled.

"I'm not backing down, especially not now." Luffy grinned.

"Did you say something? Brat? If you apologize I'll let it slide." Krieg frowned.

"I didn't say anything to apologize for, I was stating the truth." Luffy grinned.

"This isn't a game." The pirate fleet admiral informed.

"I know." Luffy smirked.

"Did you hear that? Krieg couldn't even make it in the Grand Line!" A customer yelled.

"Yeah, he's weak." Another customer replied.

"I'm just saying that we should give up on going to a place like that!" The first one said back.

"Just shut up," The other customer told them, everyone turned to face the voices, they were greeted with the sight of Usopp, Naruto and Zoro sitting around a table, "you planning to fight Luffy? Want help?" 

"Oh, hey guys," Luffy greeted, "no, I've got this."

"Ha…" Don Krieg started laughing, "Hahahaha! Those are your crewmates!? Pathetic! They're quite a small bunch aren't they!?"

"Hey! I've got two others as well!" Luffy replied.

"Hey, you just counted me in didn't you?" Sanji stated.

"Don't joke around punk! Not even my fleet of fifty ships and five thousand pirates could match up to the Grand Line! We were decimated by the devilish sea in only seven days!" Don Krieg announced, to which the cooks shouted in panic.

"S-seven days!?"

"The entire pirate fleet was annihilated in just a week!?"

"W-What happened to them!?"

"Did you hear that!? Fifty ships destroyed!? In just a week!" Usopp announced.

"Yeah, he is really weak." Naruto's beliefs were confirmed.

"Heh, sounds interesting." Zoro smirked.

"Even as a bluff, your comments just show how completely ignorant you are to the reality of that sea! I hate your empty boasting! Keep saying stuff like that and I'll kill you right on the spot!" Krieg declared as he walked over to the sack of food and grabbed it with one hand, "As for the rest of you…you have a slight extension. I'm going to give this food to my subordinates and then return here. I'd suggest you leave this place within that time if you don't want to die. If any of you still feel like dying even after I've warned you, then be my guest! I'll bury you at the bottom of the sea for eternity!" He walked out of the restaurant leaving a shaking Gin near what used to be a doorway.

"Sanji…please forgive me! I had no idea…no idea any of this would happen…I" Gin tried to find the words to describe the situation.

"There's no need for your apology," Zeff stated, "the cooks of this fine restaurant acted on their free will, and this is a result of that."

"Sir! How could you of all people side with Sanji on this!? What' the meaning of this!?" Patty questioned.

"That's right! He's the one to blame for this!" The cooks declared, "He just wants to destroy the Baratie that's so important to you, sir!"

"Silence!" Red-Legs commanded, "Have any of you every been hungry enough to die…? Do any of you know just how terrifying and painful it is, to be stuck in this world deprived of food and water!?" Sanji and Naruto both nodded slightly at his words, and how true they were.

"Wh-what are you talking about sir?" Patty asked.

"If you've got time to start crying over spilt milk, then leave now!" Zeff told the cooks, who started to reconsider their actions.

"I'm…I'm gonna stay here. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just left without a fight." Patty replied, the other cooks agreed.

"Same here, this is the place I live and work."

"Not like I've got anywhere else to go…" soon enough there was a giant horde of cooks with giant kitchen utensils, ready to fight off whatever threat there was to the restaurant."

"W-what are you doing!?" Gin yelled, "Haven't you realised how strong the Don is by now!?"

"Hey Gin." Sanji replied, "Let me tell you something. As a cook it's my duty to feed anyone who's hungry. But the ones who're coming have already been fed; so don't complain when I kill them. I will kill anyone who tries to steal this place, even if it's you."

"Heh, you save someone then you kill them? Some guy you are." Patty told him.

"Shut up, shitty cook." Sanji lighted a cigarette and started smoking it.

"See! What'd I tell you!?" Luffy sat on the table that the rest of the crew were sitting around, "He's pretty good right?"

"Who cares about that!? If we don't get outta here now we'll die!" Usopp cried.

"Calm down. Our enemies are wounded pirates." Zoro pointed out.

"Plus, it'll be pretty fun to be in this fight." Naruto stated.

"That's right and besides, I have to fight that guy. If he is truly strong, then we're gonna butt heads eventually!" Luffy pointed out, "Oh yeah, Gin! You said you didn't know anything about the Grand Line, but you've been there!"

"What I don't know is the truth…I just can't believe it…if those seven days were real…or if they were a nightmare!" Gin told him, "How could all fifty ships of the Krieg Pirate Fleet be destroyed by one man!"

"What!? One man!?" The restaurant exclaimed.

"When we had no idea what was going on, our ships sank one by one," Gin explained, "and if it weren't for that storm that whisked us away, even our main ship would've sunk…I don't even know how many of our ships were destroyed. It's just too terrifying to believe! I don't even want to think about it…that Hawkeyed Man! I don't! I don't want to think about him!"

"What!?" Zoro exclaimed.

"How could an entire fleet be sunk by one man!?" The customers yelled.

"I-I…d-don't know!?" Gin was shaking on the floor in fear of the memory.

"Hm. It was no doubt the work of the Hawkeyed Man," Zeff concluded, "the fact that he sunk your entire fleet is more than enough proof to know that it was him."

"H-hawkeyed? Who's that?" Usopp asked.

"Beats me." Luffy replied.

"He's the man I'm searching for." Zoro told him.

"Huh?" Usopp and Luffy questioned.

'_He's too strong for you Zoro, don't fight him_.' Naruto thought as he stared at Zoro.

"Hawkeyed Man, huh…" The cooks began to murmur about.

"It might be the red-eyed man who came here before."

"Oh yeah! You mean the guy who got so piss-drunk his eyes turned red."

"Yeah, that baka caught on fire and blew up."

"Heh heh, quite a sight that was."

"Johnny that baka got his information mixed up!" Zoro muttered.

"What about Johnny?" Luffy asked.

"Never mind." Zoro sighed.

"Has he got some kind of grudge against you guys, for him to destroy your entire fleet?" Saanji asked.

"I don't remember anything like that! He just attacked us all of a sudden!" Gin answered.

"You might've woken him up from a nap." Zeff offered.

"That's bullshit! You mean to tell me he destroyed our entire fleet for that!?" Gin yelled.

"No need to get so mad, it was just an example," Zeff replied, "that's just the kind of place the Grand Line is."

"A place where even the abnormal is normal, huh." Zoro stated.

"Shishi! That sounds so cool! We definitely gotta go there!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Could you at least try to think of the danger!?" Usopp told him.

"Yeah, but with this it looks like my own goal is tied with the Grand Line. Considering that 'he' is there as well." Zoro stated.

"Bunch of bakas. You lot are the type to rush their deaths." Sanji told the crew.

"True, but I'd rather have you leave out the 'baka' part," Zoro replied, "Ever since I've decided to become the world's greatest swordsman, I threw away attachment to life. The only one who can call me a baka is me."

"Yeah! Me too!" Luffy raised his hand.

"As a real man the same goes for me!" Usopp declared.

"Me too." Naruto smirked.

"Psh, what a load of crap." Sanji told them; little did they know Zeff was listening to their conversation.

'_Sanji…_' Zeff thought.

"Hey retards! Haven't you realised the situation we're in right now!?" Patty exclaimed, "There's a gigantic galleon belonging to the pirate fleet admiral Don Krieg right outside our door! The ship of the strongest pirate in all of the East Blue! You can continue your conversation after we've gotten ourselves outta this mess!"

"Don Krieg isn't the strongest." Naruto informed him.

"What'd you mean!?" Patty asked.

"The strongest pirate in the East Blue is right here." Naruto gestured his hand to Luffy.

"Yo." Luffy waved.

"And the only special thing about his crew is the numbers, they aren't individually strong." Naruto informed.

"That kid's the strongest in the East Blue!?" Patty and the rest of the cooks exclaimed in disbelief.

"Want to fight him and see?" Naruto smirked, "Don't worry, with us you don't have to worry about anything."

"I-if you say so." The cooks mumbled, still not completely believing that that kid was very strong at all.

**Don Krieg's Ship**

"Woohooo!" The crew was cheering for their recovery. Within seconds of eating the delicious food they felt as if they were back at full strength.

"We're saved!"

"It's like a dream!"

"We've finally escaped from that nightmare!" 

"We've returned alive from the 'Pirates' Graveyard!"

"Yes…" Don Krieg stated, "And we're going back to the Grand Line after this." To the absolute shock of his crew.

"Wha!?"

"Hmm? What's with your expressions?" Krieg asked.

"We're going back there…?" A crewmember asked, he was responded to with a lead bullet straight through his head courtesy of the Don.

"Well?" Krieg asked, "Anyone else who disagrees with me?"

"N-no sir!" They answered.

"Hail Don Krieg!"

"First, we'll abandon this battered old ship and take over the floating restaurant. Your enemies are a bunch of measly cooks, this should be a piece of cake." Krieg informed them as they started jumping off the galleon and onto the Baratie.

**Dining Hall**

"I can hear them coming! Brace yourself!" The cooks yelled. The cooks all clutched their giant cutlery as they prepared themselves for the fight.

"You're gonna die!" The pirates declared. But before anyone could make the first move, the giant galleon was split in two, just like that, out of nowhere.

"Wha!?" The cooks exclaimed as everyone rushed out to the railing to see what happened.

"What!?" The Straw-Hat Pirates exclaimed.

'_He's here_.' Naruto thought grimly, already knowing the fate of Zoro.

"What was that!?" Don Krieg exclaimed.

"Don Krieg!" The pirates who were still on the ship exclaimed, "Aghhh! Our ship's been cut!"

"Cut!? The hell do you mean cut!? How can a huge galleon be cut!? It's impossible!" Krieg refused to believe that his ship was cut in under a second.

"Crap! Our ship was outside! Nami, Yosaku and Johnny were still inside!" Luffy exclaimed as he rushed to where the Going Merry was docked with his crew following him, "It might be too late!"

"Raise the anchor!" Zeff commanded, "Our ships gonna be dragged under!" Johnny and Yosaku were struggling in the sea due to the intense waves and winds from the ship.

"Aniki! Zoro-anki!" The duo exclaimed.

"Yosaku! Johnny! Are you alright!?" Zoro asked, "The ship! Where's our ship!? What happened to Nami!?"

"About that…we're sorry aniki…she's not here anymore!" They exclaimed.

"What the hell do you mean she's not here anymore!?" Naruto demanded.

"Nami-aniki took the treasure and sailed away!" They answered.

"Wha!? What!?" The crew exclaimed. Near the dining hall, Zeff noticed a lone man on a small boat sail into the middle of the action.

"That man!" Zeff exclaimed.

"Agh!" The pirates and cooks screamed together.

"W-what's going on!?" The cooks yelled.

"I don't know... maybe their munitions supplies exploded!?" They continued to shout.

"We're sorry aniki!" Johnny apologized thoroughly, "She took the treasure and sailed off! She said that she was never a part of your crew! She was a thief! She just ran away! We're really sorry!" The crew pulled the duo up out of the water.

"Damn that woman!" Zoro cursed.

"How dare she pull a fast one on us!? Especially during this crisis!" Usopp yelled.

"Wait! I can still see our ship!" Luffy announced.

"What!?" The crew exclaimed, still angry with the girl.

"It's the Going Merry!" Luffy told them, "Oi! Do you guys still have your ship!?"

"Yeah." Yosaku answered.

"Zoro! Usopp!" Luffy started.

"Just let her go. Nothing good will come of chasing that thief." Zoro told him.

"B-but she took our ship! Our ship's important!" Usopp told them.

"Plus, where can we find a navigator as good as her?" Naruto asked.

"Exactly! I want her to be our navigator no matter what!" Luffy proclaimed.

"Fine," Zoro sighed, "why do I have to have such a troublesome captain. C'mon Usopp, we're gonna get her."

"Right behind you!" Usopp chased after him as they went to Johnny and Yosaku's boat.

"Zoro-aniki! We're ready to set sail!" The duo announced.

"Luffy, Naruto, what about you guys?" Usopp asked.

"Sorry, I can't. I still haven't paid this restaurant back for what I did." Luffy answered.

"I wanna fight." Naruto answered simply.

"Well, be careful, the situation's getting pretty crazy." Zoro advised.

"Yeah, don't worry." Luffy replied.

"It's him!" Voices shouted from around the other side of the Baratie, "It's him! The one who destroyed our fleet! He followed us all the way out here! He's come to kill us!"

"B-bastard…" Krieg muttered.

"H-hawkeyed…Man?" Zoro started sweating in anticipation.

"He's the one…who sank a fleet of fifty ships!?" The cooks were discussing outside the dining hall.

"Then…he must've…been the one who destroyed Krieg's ship just now!?"

"He looks like any normal guy."

"It doesn't look like he's carrying any special weapon."

"If you're looking for his weapon, then it's on his back." Zeff told his cooks.

"Wha!? Y-you mean he cut that gigantic galleon by swinging that!?"

"Yes…that 'Hawkeyed' Man is a renowned swordsman. In fact he's considered the greatest swordsman in the world," Zeff announced, "Dracule Mihawk!" The man sailing on the small ship was tall and lean. He had a short beard, moustache and sideburns that pointed upwards. He had strangely coloured, yellow eyes, which resembled that of a hawk's. He wore black and red ornate clothing with a crucifix pendant. He had a wide-brimmed black hat decorated with a large plume, and a long, open black coat with no shirt underneath with red, flower-patterned sleeves and collar. He wore white pants held up by a decorated belt that tucked inside his large boots. This was Dracule Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world.

"We're done for…" The Krieg Pirates muttered.

"Damn it!" One of the pirates yelled, "What did we ever do to you!? Why the hell did you follow us all the way out here!?" Mihawk cocked his head over to the pirate.

"For entertainment." He answered in a calm yet dangerous tone.

"That's bullshit!" The pirate pulled out two flintlock pistols and shot at the swordsman multiple times. Mihawk pulled his sword over his back and held it out straight, deflecting the bullets, "Wha!? I-It missed!?"

"He deflected it," A voice stated from behind them, the pirates turned to see Zoro, "it'll be the same no matter how many times you shoot. He changes the bullet's trajectory with the tip of his sword."

"Who are you!? Bastard!" The pirate shouted to which Zoro ignored.

"I've never seen such graceful movement." Zoro told him.

"A sword without grace is nothing but a steel bar." Mihawk replied.

"Did you cut this ship with that sword?" Zoro asked.

"Yes I did." Hawk-Eyes replied.

"There's no doubt, you really are the strongest." Zoro smirked. The pirates around Zoro started mumbling.

"T-three swords? Could he be…"

"I set sail to meet you!" Zoro revealed.

"What do you aim for?" Mihawk asked.

"To be the best," Zoro untied his bandanna around his bicep and tied it around his head, "you said you want entertainment right? Let's have a duel. It should give you some entertainment at least."

"It's him! Roronoa Zoro of the Santoryu!" The pirates cried.

"The pirate hunter?" Don Krieg questioned.

"Him…!?" Sanji exclaimed.

"Hey! We're losing sight of the ship!" Usopp yelled, he, Johnny and Yosaku sailed the boat around to where Zoro was with Naruto sitting on the railing and Luffy watching intently.

"Pitiful weakling," Mihawk stated, "if you're a competent swordsman by any means, then I can demonstrate the clear difference between you and I without needing to cross blades at all. But still, you dare to challenge me. Does your bravery come from your conviction or ignorance?" He stepped out of his ship and walked onto a piece of the galleon that Zoro was using as a platform.

"It comes from my ambition, and a promise to a friend," Zoro revealed, "and to be honest I never thought that I'd meet you so early on my journey."

"Too early if you ask me." Mihawk told him.

"The world's strongest swordsman versus the pirate hunter Zoro!" The cooks exclaimed.

"There's not a chance someone can match aniki!" Johnny and Yosaku proclaimed.

"That man…" Krieg mumbled. Mihawk grabbed his pendant and pulled it off his neck and revealed a dagger within the top part of the cross.

"What're you planning to do with that?" Zoro asked as he placed one of his swords in his mouth, entering his battle stance.

"I'm not some kind of stupid brute who goes all out to hunt a mere rabbit," Dracule answered, "though you may be a somewhat of a renown swordsman this is still the East Blue. The weakest of the four seas separated by the Red Line and the Grand Line. Unfortunately I don't own a blade smaller than this at the moment."

"There's a limit, to just how much you can underestimate me!" Zoro shouted, "You better not regret it when you die!" Zoro launched himself at man with his hands over his chest with his swords pointed upwards.

"Hear me, little frog in his well." Mihawk started.

"**Oni…**" Zoro rushed at his opponent, "**Giri!**" as if he had done this a thousand times. Mihawk held out his small dagger and blocked all of the incoming swords easily, "Wha!?"

"Zoro?" Luffy exclaimed.

"Aniki's 'Oni Giri' was stopped!" Johnny yelled.

"His signature attack! It sends opponents flying all the time!" Yosaku shouted.

"Don't say I didn't warn you Zoro." Naruto muttered.

'_I…can't move…there hasn't been anyone who could see through this technique! How can he stop me with that toy!?_' Zoro thought to himself, '_This is ridiculous!_'

"Arghh!" He started throwing slashes and stabs all of the place, but Mihawk just seemed to keep blocking them one by one, not even breaking a sweat.

'_My goal can't be so out of my reach just yet!_' He thought as he continued fighting a losing battle, '_There shouldn't be such a vast difference between us!_'

"Ugh!" He exclaimed when Mihawk sent him to the ground with a simple flick of his wrist, "Arghh!"

"Come on aniki! Show him what you've got!" Johnny cheered on.

"Come on!" Yosaku added.

"Such ferocity." Mihawk commented as he continued to block all of Zoro's strikes.

"He's easily taking on Roronoa Zoro with that little thing!" The pirates exclaimed.

'_I didn't train so hard just to fight against this stupid little toy!_' Zoro thought.

"I trained to win!" He announced, "I came to beat you!"

"What burden do you carry?" The greatest swordsman in the world asked, "What do you desire so much that you will use the extent of your strength to reach? Weakling?"

"How dare you call aniki a weakling!?" Yosaku yelled.

"We oughta teach you a lesson, bastard!" Johnny shouted. They both jumped off the boat only to be stopped by Luffy.

"Stop! Don't interfere!" He grabbed their heads and kept them on the railing, "Stay put! Right here!" Usopp looked over and noticed that he was shaking and sweating profoundly.

"Luffy…" He mumbled, seeing the pain that watching the fight was causing him.

"Oof!" Zoro exclaimed as he was sent down again, "**Tora…**" he held his two swords behind the one in his mouth pointing downwards, "**Gari!**" He attempted to attack but was instead stabbed in the chest by the little toy that was humiliating him to such an extent.

"Aniki!" The bounty-hunting duo cried.

"Zoro!" Luffy cried. Naruto simply watched on, to a bystander it looked as if he didn't care. But to someone who had spent more time with him than most would understand that he felt the same way as Luffy, except he was better at controlling his emotions. Zoro continued standing, even when he was stabbed in the chest.

"Do you me to pierce your heart?" Mihawk asked, "Why do you refuse to step back?"

"Beats me…" Zoro answered, "but I get the feeling…that if I were take even one step back, I'd lose something very important to me…a promise or an oath…or whatever it is would be irreversibly broken, and I'd never be able to return to where I'm standing right now."

"Yes, that is called defeat." Mihawk informed.

"Haha…" The wounded man laughed lightly, "That's why I can't step back."

"Even if it means death?" Mihawk asked.

"I'd rather die." Zoro stated with as much conviction as he could muster up.

'_What conviction he possesses!_' Mihawk thought to himself as he pulled the small dagger out of Zoro's chest, '_To rather choose death than defeat…_'

"Tell me your name kid." Mihawk ordered.

"Roronoa Zoro." Zoro replied as he got his swords in a position that made them look like a pinwheel.

"I'll remember it," Mihawk said as he placed his small dagger away and pulled out his main sword from his back, "strength such as yours is not often seen in this world. To pay my respect to you as a fellow swordsman, I'll end this duel with my Yoru, the strongest sword in the world."

"He unsheathed it!" The Krieg Pirates exclaimed, "That sword he used to cut our ship with!"

'_So this is it…if I stuff up here I die…to be the world's strongest…or to die here and now…!_' Zoro thought.

"Die!" Mihawk exclaimed as he pulled his mighty sword back in preparation for a slash.

"Aniki! That's enough! Stop!" Johnny and Yosaku pleaded.

"**Santouryu Ogi…**" Zoro started rotating his swords rapidly creating a lot of momentum, "**Sanzen Sekai!**" Zoro launched himself at such a speed that it looked as if he had nearly disappeared and reappeared behind Mihawk. However, with all of his speed and power, it was still no match for the well trained and more experienced Mihawk. Both his swords in his hands broke, leaving him with only one; the one in his mouth.

'_I lost…I'm no match for him…never even thought about the possibility of losing…this is the strength of the world's greatest._' Zoro sheathed his white sword, stood up and faced Mihawk with his arms stretched out.

"What?" Mihawk questioned.

"A wound on one's back is a swordsman's shame." Zoro answered with a grin on his face.

"Splendid." Mihawk smirked, knowing that the child in front of him and a bright future if he continued with his journey of conviction. He swung down hard on Zoro from his right shoulder down to the left side of his hip. The strike cut deeply, blood spewed out of Zoro like a fountain.

"Zoro!" Luffy cried out.

"Aniki!" The bounty-hunting duo did the same. Zoro dropped his sword and started swaying on his feet.

'_Don't rush your death child_.' Mihawk thought wisely.

"Ahh!" Luffy cried out, tears forming in his eyes.

"Zoro!" Usopp cried.

"Aniki!" Johnny and Yosaku yelled.

"Shit!" Naruto muttered. Everyone was worried and scared for the wounded swordsman.

"This is the power of the Grand Line…even Roronoa Zoro couldn't come close!" The Krieg Pirates yelled, frightened by the fact that monsters like that even existed.

'_Damn bastards' out of his mind! His enemy was the strongest in the world! We all knew the result from the start! Just throw your ambition away!_' Sanji thought.

"Just throw it away! Throw away your ambition, it's simple!" Sanji yelled as Zoro fell backwards into the sea.

"Damn it!" Luffy threw his arm back and launched it at the swordsman, "Damn you!"

"Aniki!" Johnny and Yosaku immediately dived in the sea to retrieve their fallen brother. Mihawk easily sidestepped the fist sent by Luffy, but instead of punching the rubble behind the man, he grabbed hold onto one of the rails and pulled himself down.

"What's that!?" The cooks of the Baratie exclaimed.

"Argh!" Luffy exclaimed as he soared towards him, Naruto following behind him.

"That brat…must be an Akuma no Mi user." Don Krieg concluded.

"You must be a comrade of the young swordsman," Mihawk concluded as he placed his sword back in its sheath on his back, "you must've seen what transpired." He dodged the flying Luffy, making him fly right into the platform.

"**Rasengan!**" Naruto shouted as he held his hand out with a sphere of swirling energy. Mihawk took close notice of this.

'_Is that…_' Mihawk took out his dagger from around his next and slashed the orb, causing it to dissipate and then grabbed Naruto and threw him to the ground. He then turned back to Luffy.

"Fear not, your friend is still alive." Mihawk stated.

"Aniki! Answer us! Aniki!" Yosaku and Johnny pleaded as they lifted Zoro above the water.

"Zoro!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"Hurry up! Get him on the boat!" Usopp told them as he helped Zoro onto the boat.

"I am Dracule Mihawk!" Mihawk announced, "It is much too early for you to die. Know yourself. Know the world. Become strong, Roronoa. No matter how many months or years pass by, I shall stand here at the top of the world and wait for you! So forge on ahead with fierce conviction and try to surpass my sword! Surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!"

"Aniki! Answer me!" The crew were applying the medicine to Zoro's wound.

"To think someone like Mihawk would say something like that." Zeff mumbled from above the dining hall.

"Boy, what do you aim for?" Mihawk asked Luffy.

"Pirate King!" Luffy answered.

"A tough path, even tougher than surpassing myself." Mihawk stated.

"Whatever! I'm doing it!" Luffy stuck his tongue out, "Usopp! Is Zoro okay!?"

"Like hell he'd be alright! But he's still alive! He only lost consciousness!" Usopp answered.

"Aniki…please answer us!" The bounty-hunting duo pleaded. Without any warning, Zoro raised his only remaining sword in the air.

"Zoro?" Luffy questioned.

"L-Luffy…c…can you hear me…?" Zoro asked weakly.

"Yeah!" Luffy confirmed.

"Sorry…for worrying you…I know…that if I don't become…the greatest…in the world…it will only embarrass you…Guh!" Zoro sputtered out blood.

"Aniki! Please don't talk anymore!" Yosaku pleaded.

"Aniki!" Johnny added.

"I swear!" Zoro shouted, tears flowing freely from his eyes, "I will never lose again! Until the day I fight him and win! I swear…to never lose again! Are you alright with that!? Pirate King!?"

"Shishi! Nope!" Luffy grinned.

"You make a good team, I hope to meet you two again in the future," Mihawk turned around to face Naruto, "now onto you," his infamous eyes scanned all over his body, as if it were looking for something, "how are you able to use chakra at such a young, tender age?"

"The hell's chakra?" Naruto asked, unsure of what the man in front of him was talking about.

"Clueless child," Mihawk sighed, "chakra is what you just used to form that technique."

"Huh?" Naruto questioned.

"Just know that you are very lucky, most people have to train for decades in order to obtain the ability to use chakra." Mihawk told the boy.

"O-other people…can do what I do?" Naruto asked, he always thought that he was the only one that possessed the ability.

"There is only one other person alive who has the same abilities as you, to my knowledge," Mihawk answered, "expand your creativity and knowledge on chakra. It will be useful in the future." Naruto nodded, still unsure on the topic.

"Hawk-Eyes!" Krieg shouted as Mihawk started walking to his boat, "Did you come all the way out here for my head? The head of the infamous king of the East Blue, 'Don Krieg'!?"

"For a while, yes. But I've obtained plenty of excitement and entertainment. I think I'm going to return to my nap." Mihawk replied.

"No need to be so curt, you may have had your fun, but I haven't!" The Don exclaimed with a smug grin.

"D-D-D-D-Don!" His crew yelled, "W-why's he purposely trying to stop him from leaving!?"

"How about you die before leaving!" Krieg revealed all of his pistols like he did earlier on the Baratie and shot at the man multiple times.

"Hmph, you never learn," Mihawk pulled his Yoru out of its sheath and slammed it against the platform, causing even more damage. The shockwave shook the rest of the pieces of the galleon and caused intense waves.

"Aghhh!" The crew screamed.

"Gone already?" The Don questioned when he realised that Mihawk had mysteriously disappeared.

"Usopp! Go on ahead!" Luffy yelled to his nakama.

"Right! Zoro and I'll definitely bring back Nami!" Usopp held up Luffy's straw hat that had blown off when he flew at Mihawk, "Make sure to get us a good cook!" He threw the hat over the water and right into Luffy's hands, "Once we have five people, let's head to the Grand Line!"

"Yeah! For sure!" Luffy grinned as he caught his treasure.

"They're finally coming," Sanji stated, "Damn bastards."

"Hey old man! If I chase them away for you, will you let me off the hook?" Luffy asked.

"Fine! Do as you wish!" Zeff answered.

"This'll be fun." Naruto smirked.

"While that was a bit of a nuisance, it doesn't matter at all," Don Krieg informed the crew, "we were going to abandon the ship anyway so it doesn't matter if it's been destroyed. Look at that ship, if we have it we don't need to fear the Grand Line anymore, that ship will be much more useful that waving the white flag or anything of the sort. It would lower our enemies' guards and we'll be able to sneak closer to enemy ships than ever before, it's the perfect disguise."

"I see…nobody would ever suspect that there'd be pirates lying in wait, on such a stupid looking ship like that." One of the pirates agreed.

"With this, rebuilding our pirate fleet will be a piece of cake." Don Krieg smirked.

"B-but Don! W-when we go back to the Grand Line, what if we…came across another monster like Hawk-Eyes?" A foolish pirate questioned, to which he was shot in the face like the last person who questioned him.

"Your still afraid of that bastard!?" Krieg yelled, "Do you really think a normal person can cut down a gigantic galleon!?"

"What'd you mean Don?" They asked.

"Isn't it obvious!? He's got some strange power from an Akuma no Mi!" Krieg shouted, "Monsters like those…the Grand Line is full of 'em! There's no doubt that Hawk-Eyes has some strange power, even that straw-hat wearing punk and the blonde bastard have a weird ability, but people like those are just another run of the mill pirate in the Grand Line! But Red-Leg Zeff spent a year in the Grand Line! He must've found out some sort of method to deal with those monsters! He must've written that method down in his log! There might even be information about the One Piece in his log as well!" The crew were nodding in agreement.

"As expected from the Don!"

"So that's how it was!" 

"All we gotta do is get our hands on that log!"

"All the treasures in the world will be ours!"

"Alright! Let's take over this restaurant!" Krieg ordered.

"Yeah!" The crew responded obediently.

"Woah! They're pretty fired up!" Luffy pointed out.

"Yeah, but all they have are numbers." Naruto reminded.

"Hey old man! It's a deal right?" Luffy asked.

"You don't have to ask me twice, my restaurant would be a wreck if you worked here for a full year." Zeff replied.

"Where's Patty and Carne?" Sanji asked.

"They're busy with the battle preparations," One of the cooks answered, "those guys are really reliable in times like these!"

"Only in times like these," Sanji muttered, "you better go open up the 'fins'."

"Are you sure? That'll just give our enemies a foothold!" He replied.

"Doesn't matter, the geezer will be pissed if we fight inside the restaurant and won't shut up about it." Sanji explained.

"You say something brat?" Zeff asked.

"Yeah, I said you wouldn't shut up." Sanji replied.

"On it right away!" The cook rushed to the control panel to open the fins.

"Hand over the ship!" The pirates yelled.

"Time to get things started Naruto!" Luffy yelled with a grin on his face.

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned. Luffy held his hands on the railing and walked backwards until his arms at stretched a considerable distance.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy leapt up from his crouch and soared across the water, "**Rocket!**"

"He's flying right at us!" The pirates cried.

"Followed with…" Luffy stretched out both his arms, "**Ogama!**" his outstretched arms hit multiple Krieg pirates, sending them into the sea easily.

"Wah!"

"Oof!" 

"Gya!" The pirates screamed.

"The errand-boy ain't half bad!" The cooks cheered on from above.

"So the Grand Line is full of people like him?" Sanji asked.

"I'll smash you!" Luffy threatened the Don as he held onto one of the broken masts in an attempt to stay out of the water.

"Hahaha, are you planning on fighting here where you can't even stand properly?" Krieg asked, "I've heard that Akuma no Mi sink in water, right? Hammer boy?"

"I can't swim, but I can still kick your ass!" Luffy stated.

"Take off!" Voices screamed in unison, they turned to see Patty and Carne in the cockpit of…the restaurant head.

"Baratie's naval weapon! Sabagashira No.1!" Patty announced.

"If you don't wanna die then get the hell outta the way!" Carne demanded. The head of the restaurant started to break apart from the main body.

"Huh?" Krieg raised an eyebrow.

"How cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Points for originality." Naruto stated.

"What the hell is that!?" The pirates exclaimed as the pedal boat started moving across the water, very slowly.

"Hey pedal properly!" Patty told him.

"No! You need to pedal faster!" Carne told him.

"You're the one who needs to pedal faster if we wanna turn left!" Patty retorted.

"I know! Shut up you bald-haired freak!" Carne responded.

"Full speed ahead!" Patty exclaimed.

"Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster!" Carne shouted. The boat was still moving slowly in the exact opposite direction to the pirates. Until it switched course completely and appeared right in front of the pirates.

"How can it be that fast!?" They yelled. The fish's mouth opened to reveal three cannons.

"Fire!" Patty ordered.

"Roger!" Carne answered as he fired the cannons, blowing up the platforms that the pirates were on and the pirates themselves.

"Haha! Good job! Keep it up!" The cooks cheered.

"Opening the fins!" One of the cooks yelled from the control panel.

"What is it this time?" Krieg sighed.

"Ack! I'm sinking!" Luffy yelled in peril as the mast slowly starting sinking.

"If you pirates wanna fight then bring it on." Sanji taunted as a proper platform rose from underneath the restaurant.

"Cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Providing a foothold for the fight, pretty smart." Naruto commented.

"Interesting…they don't want us fighting inside and destroying the restaurant. Now I want that ship even more!" Krieg declared.

"Just what the hell can a couple of cooks do against us!?" The pirates shouted as they lifted themselves onto the platform.

"Don't look down on us cooks of the sea!" The cooks yelled back.

"Gyahahahaha! C'mon! Show them the power of fighting cooks!" Patty shouted.

"Patty! Don't get distracted! We've gotta aim for him!" Carne yelled.

"Prepare yourself Krieg! For the power of the Baratie!" They shouted in unison as they drove right into him. Only to be met with Don Krieg holding them with one hand.

"I'm Don Krieg. I'll be the king of the seas." He told them.

"Hey! That'll be me!" Luffy yelled at him.

"I don't have time to play around with people like you!" He announced as he threw them over his shoulder, right towards the restaurant.

"All talk and no substance…useless bastards." Sanji muttered.

"Ahh! Crap! The restaurant!" They screamed inside the boat head. But just before they reached the restaurant, Sanji kicked them away as if they were mice.

"Sanji!" The cooks cheered.

"He kicked it!?" Don Krieg exclaimed.

"Heh." Sanji held a smug smirk about him.

"W-what strength! He kicked it away as if it was nothing!" The pirates exclaimed.

"That kicking technique!" Krieg exclaimed.

"Cool!" Luffy approved.

"Nice." Naruto smirked.

"Sanji!" Patty shouted as he and Carne emerged from the paddle boat and rushed over to him, "Are you trying to kill people on your own side!?"

"Yeah." Sanji answered.

"What are you talking about!?" Patty yelled.

"You almost lost two powerful fighters!" Carne pointed at him.

"Powerful? Ha! Even if you hold weapons, a cook's still a cook. You better go back to the kitchen before I kill you!" One of the pirates told them as he killed multiple cooks around him, "Don't compare us to regular pirates, we are the Don Krieg Pirates! The strongest in the East Blue!"

"Shit…these guys are strong!" The cooks muttered, "They're not like the other pirates!"

"Are you gonna let them beat you so easily!?" Patty yelled.

"You call yourselves fighting cooks!" Carne shouted.

"So what if you're fighting cooks!? We fight for a living! We'll kill you!" The pirates shouted as they rushed at them.

"Ten years since I've been a cook! I've worked at three hundred restaurants! But I got fired each time because I got into fights all the time!" Patty explained.

"After searching and searching we found this place where we were accepted!" Carne continued.

"There's nowhere else as good as this!" Patty yelled.

"We'd never hand it over to you scum!" Carne shouted. The duo rushed through the pirates, cutting them with their giant cutlery easily.

"What's up with these guys!?" The pirates yelled.

"This is the power of fighting cooks!" Carne yelled.

"The hell are you guys doing?" A large pirate asked from behind the fighting cook duo.

"Hm?" Patty questioned.

"Who's this guy?" Carne asked, their questions were answered with being smashed to the ground.

"Hahaha! Behold! The invincible wall!" The pirate exclaimed. The man had a towering figure and had an ensemble of two large iron plates covering his front and backside as well as two small plates with pearls embedded in them on his elbows, fist and knees. The iron plates had an orange and white design.

"Pearl!" The pirates shouted, happy that one of their strongest was here, ready to fight.

"Patty! Carne!" The cooks cried in distress.

"Hahahaha! You won't be standing after my lethal punch! The 'Pearl Present!'" Pearl shouted.

"Hey! This guy's got a damn fine knife on him!" One of the pirates searched Patty and found a high quality cooking knife, he tried to take it away but Patty clutched it as hard as he could, even if it meant his hand bleeding, "Hm? H-hey! Get off! Let go of it! Just die!" Before he could do anything, Sanji gave him a devastating kick to the chest, breaking several ribs and sent him flying into Pearl.

"Hmph." Pearl was unfazed by the pirate as his shield protected him. Sanji caught the knife that was thrown in the air by the pirate.

"A kitchen knife is the soul of a cook, amateurs like you shouldn't even think about touching it." Sanji said as he glared at the pirates.

"Sanji…" Patty mumbled.

"Here," Sanji handed him his knife, "now kick the bucket, I'll handle them."

"Sanji," Naruto said from behind Sanji, "is it alright if I take on the big guy?"

"Why?" Sanji raised an eyebrow.

"Cause he seems strong." Naruto smirked.

"Fine." Sanji sighed.

"You won't even make it to him!" The pirates shouted as they struck out their swords at the blonde boy.

"Heh." Naruto smirked smugly as he disappeared from view.

"Hm?" The pirates exclaimed before he appeared underneath them and gave them all uppercuts in the span of one second, "Agh!" 

"You guys are weak!" Naruto grinned darkly.

"Hah!" Pearl laughed, "You must not want to live long if you want to fight against me!"

"I'll take you down." Naruto told him.

"You take me down? I'm sorry but that ain't happening! In the last sixty-one fights I've been in I've won them all without so much as a scratch on me! I've never even lost a single drop of blood despite all the fights I've been in! Not one drop!" Pearl proclaimed, "That's proof of my mighty strength, but not only that I have the perfect defence! It's also quite fashionable! Ain't I stylish?"

"What the hell are you one about?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "It doesn't matter if you've got a strong defence, cause I've got an even stronger offence." Without even giving Pearl the time to retort Naruto jumped up to him and smashed his knee into his face.

"Gyaa!" He screamed in pain as he clutched his face.

"What was that!? I thought you were supposed to be amazingly strong!" Naruto complained. Little did he know what he had caused. Blood slowly seeped out of Pearl's nose.

"Shit." Krieg sighed.

"Blood!" The pirates screamed, "Shit!"

"B-Blood!" Pearl screamed.

"Pearl it's fine!" The pirates exclaimed in an attempt to calm Pearl down, "It's just a nosebleed! Everyone gets those! You haven't really been hurt at all!"

"What's going on?" The injured cooks asked.

"M-my iron defence was broken," Pearl stated, "this guy is dangerous!"

"The hell are you talking about? It's just a nosebleed." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Pearl stop! This isn't the jungle!" Krieg ordered.

"Something's happening…" The cooks mumbled.

"Danger!" Pearl screamed as he started banging the iron plates on his hands together, "Danger! Danger! I'm in danger!"

"Pearl! Stop!" The pirates pleaded.

"Danger!" Pearl announced as all of the plates on his body suddenly caught on fire.

"Fire!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"Crap! Pearl this isn't the jungle! Beasts aren't gonna come get you!" The pirates shouted.

"Beasts!? Is that some sort of defence tactic!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"Don't you dare come close to me!" Pearl shouted towards Naruto, "**Fire Pearl Daitokuten!**" Out of nowhere, Pearl launched several flaming pearls flying towards Naruto, to which he simply jumped over the oncoming attacks.

"For a defence tactic, it is really flawed." Naruto smirked.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" The pirates screamed as the fire pearls struck them, causing them to light on fire, "Please! Stop Pearl!"

"Crap! Our ship's gonna catch on fire!" The cooks exclaimed in worry.

"Burn!" Pearl screamed, "With this, my iron defence is even more invincible!"

"That baka," Krieg muttered, "is he trying to destroy the very ship that we're trying to capture?"

"Ahh! It's too hot!" The pirates exclaimed as they dived into the sea, "Jump into the sea!"

"I'll break that wall!" Naruto rushed at Pearl, right into the fire.

"Kid! You'll get burnt to a crisp!" Patty shouted.

"You're gonna get burnt!" Pearl shouted.

"Don't care!" Naruto rushed straight through the flames and launched a deadly kick to the front plate, which only seems to knock Peal back a couple centimetres.

'_This'll be harder than I thought_.' Naruto thought.

"What a baka!" The pirates commented from sea, "Does he want to get burnt!?"

"H-how could you attack me!?" Pearl screamed, "Even wild beasts don't approach me!"

"Cause fire doesn't scare me," Naruto smirked, "and neither do you."

"D-damn you!" Pearl cocked his fist back, "You dandy son of a bitch! **Fire Pearl Present!**" Pearl sent a flaming iron plate to Naruto's head, to which he expertly jumped over and, whilst in the air, sent a devastating kick to the side of his head, sending him down to the ground.

"Ah! He got past Pearl's defence!" The pirates cried, "Who is this kid!"

"M-my…my face!" Pearl screamed as he held his face, "Dangerous! Dangerous! More fire! More fire pearls!" Pearl sent some more flaming pearls, except this time the pearls were sent in the direction of the dining hall, where Zeff was standing.

"Argh! The restaurant is gonna be nothing if the fire spreads to the kitchen!" The cooks cried, "Sir! Move!" Zeff simply kicked his wooden leg in the air, causing the wind to blow out the fire and slow down the pearls significantly so they only made a small dent into the walls around the doorway.

"I may have lost one leg, but I can still handle you guys." Zeff stated.

"W-what!?" Pearl screamed in disbelief.

"That's incredible sir! He put out the fire with the wind blast!" The cooks cheered.

"Holy crap! Red-Leg Zeff's still got it!?" The pirates cried in shock.

"That old man is pretty good." Naruto commented.

"That baka Pearl is more trouble than he's worth," Krieg stated as he threw a giant spiked iron ball into the air connected by a chain, "before the fire spreads to the rest of the ship, I'll sink those fins!" The ball started falling at high speeds down to the fins.

"Shitty pirate!" Sanji shouted.

"Kid! Watch out!" The cooks exclaimed.

"Heh," Naruto smirked as he jumped onto Pearls head to use as a platform as he formed the iconic swirling orb of energy in his palm, "**Rasengan!**" Naruto thrust his attack into the ball just before it reached him, after a few seconds the spiked ball was smashed open, as fragments of it fell into the sea.

"What the hell!?" The Don exclaimed.

"What the hell is up with this kid!?" The pirates exclaimed.

"Holy shit! Good job kid!" The cooks cheered.

"That technique…" Zeff mumbled.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you!" Naruto told Pearl as he backflipped off Pearl's headed and landed right in front of him. Naruto infused some of his energy into his fists, "**Akuma Hachidori no Gyakushū!(1.)**" He started punching Pearl's front iron plate so fast that it seemed like a blur. He was jabbing and striking him faster than a machine gun.

"Pearl!" The pirates cried.

"Ha!" Naruto exclaimed as he concluded his attacks with a destructive roundhouse kick, sending Pearl only inches away from the edge of the platform.

"Useless bakas…in the end the only one I can count on is me!" Krieg muttered.

"Ugh…" Pearl moaned in pain.

"Ahh!" They heard Zeff cry.

"Sanji!" They also heard Gin's voice. Everyone turned to see Gin holding a shotgun to Zeff's head as he held a part of his peg leg, which he had ripped off, "Stop, I don't want to end up killing you."

"Gin!" Sanji exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter that he was a great man in the past, I can still easily kill him at gunpoint." Gin explained.

"That bastard! He broke owner Zeff's peg leg!" Patty shouted.

"Sir!" The cooks cried for their fallen owner.

"You want to save this man, don't you Sanji?" Gin asked, "If you want to save him, then leave the ship!"

"No way." Sanji stated with confidence.

"S-Sanji you baka! Don't provoke him! Owner Zeff'll be…" The cooks tried to prevent Sanji from saying anything.

"You're pathetic old geezer," Sanji stated, "what kind of example are you setting to the cooks when they're trying to fight!?"

"Hmph, I don't need to hear that from an eggplant like you." Zeff retorted.

"Who the hell are you calling an eggplant!? Damn Geezer!" Sanji yelled.

"Sanji! Now's not the time for this!" The fighting cooks pleaded, "Are you trying to get Owner Zeff killed!?"

"Gin! Take your gun," Sanji ordered, "and point it at me."

"You'll die instead, you know that right?" Naruto informed the cook.

"Whatever." Sanji shook that thought off.

"W-what're you saying!? Sanji!" The cooks shouted.

"S-Sanji?" Gin questioned.

"I-if…you wanna die," Pearl stated as he struggled to stand up, "then I'll kill you nice and flashy! I'd never imagined that I would even be hurt in a single fight. I see now how dangerous you guys are, now don't move it you don't want that old man's head blown off!" Before anyone could react Pearl slammed his fist plate into the side of Sanji's skull, "**Cho Tennen Pearl Present!**" Sanji was sent rolling to the railing near Zeff and Gin.

"Sanji!" Naruto shouted.

"How dare you tarnish my brilliant battle record!?" Pearl screamed in anger.

"I'll destroy you!" Naruto cocked his fist back, but before he struck the man.

"Don't touch him, kid!" Sanji shouted.

"Why not!?" Naruto yelled back, "And why didn't you dodge that attack!?"

"Cause that useless geezer is at gunpoint," Sanji explained, "Gin you cheap son of a bitch…there's no way I can accept your conditions."

"Why not!? It's simple!" Gin shouted, "Just leave the ship and spare everyone's lives! All you have to do is leave!"

"This ship is that old geezer's treasure!" Sanji exclaimed

"Sanji! I thought he hated the owner!" The cooks shouted.

"I took everything away from that damn geezer! His strength! His dreams! Which is why," Sanji stated, "I don't want him to lose anything else!"

"Damn eggplant, now's not the time to ramble about ancient history!" Zeff muttered.

"Shut up old geezer! And stop treating me like a kid!" Sanji shouted angrily.

"Sanji look out!" Patty warned.

"**Pearl…**" Pearl stood behind Sanji with his two arms outstretched, "**Close!**" He slammed his fists against the sides of Sanji's neck and head.

"Ah!" Sanji spat out some blood.

"Shit!" Naruto cursed.

"Your story's got nothing to do with me," Pearl informed, "**Service Pearl…**" Pearl pushed his fist plates on the fin allowing for him to jump in the air.

"He jumped!" The cooks cried.

"Gin, that's dirty!" Naruto yelled at him.

"This is how we fight! All you need to do is hand over the ship and all this'll be over!" Gin shouted back.

"**Ishibigin Present!**" Pearl fell back to the fin and landed dead on with Sanji.

"Gyaa!" Sanji screamed in pain.

"Sanji!" The cooks cried.

"Haahaahaaa! Behold my iron defence!" Pearl laughed, happy with his results.

"Why the hell are you doing this Sanji!?" The cooks shouted.

"Why…why did you do it?" Sanji asked, trying to hold back the burning sensation he could feel in his eyes, "Why would you eat your own leg and give me all the food…why did you save my life?"

"You can still talk!? Even after all my attacks!" Pearl shouted.

"I'm not handing over this restaurant, and I won't let you kill the damn geezer either," Sanji smirked as he slowly stood up, "if I can't even put my life at risk to save him then I can never repay my debt to him!"

"Sanji! Stop talking nonsense! I'm not so old and feeble that I have to be rescued by a little eggplant!" Zeff chided.

"Shut up," Sanji replied, "if you hadn't given up your leg these guys would be nothing compared to you."

"Sanji's barely standing!" The cooks were discussing, "He must've stayed here to repay his debt to Owner Zeff!"

"I never would've thought that those two would have such a deep relationship…" Carne stated.

"Why do you still stand up Sanji?" Gin asked.

"Haaahaaaa! Still haven't had enough me!?" Pearl screamed, "You ain't got a chance of winning! The final result is all that matters in this world! It doesn't matter if you take hostages! The last man standing is the victor! Isn't that right Don Krieg!?"

"Exactly." Krieg answered.

"Right, Gin!?" Pearl asked, but he didn't respond, "Guess I don't even have to ask, you are the one holding him hostage after all. You're gonna lose either way, so why do you still stand!? You'll only die if you do!"

"I wanna preserve this restaurant, even if its just one second longer." Sanji smirked.

"Are you trying to die!?" Patty exclaimed.

"Damn brat." Zeff muttered.

"Hah! Ain't that a flashy last stand! But the time to close this restaurant is now! **Dameoshi…**" Pearl pulled his fist back and smacked Sanji across the face, "**Pearl Present!**"

"Ahh! Sanji!" The cooks exclaimed, "Arghh! The fire!" 

"H-hey! Put out the fire or there's no point in taking this restaurant!" The pirates desperately started splashing water onto the ship. Naruto watched on as Sanji attempted to stand.

"Hahahaha! Feel free to fight back! That is, if you don't mind the old man dying!" Pearl taunted.

"Baka Sanji." Naruto stated as he jumped up into the air, he was a good hundred metres above the Baratie.

"What are you doing!? Don't attack him!" Sanji cried.

"What's he planning to do?" The pirates asked.

"What the hell?" The cooks started wondering.

"**Akuma Sūpāpindoroppukirā!**" Naruto announced as he fell right back to the fin, destroying it completely.

"Aghhh!" The pirates exclaimed, "The fins have broken!"

"That little bastard," Krieg muttered, "Gin! Just blow the old man's head off!"

"B-but…" Gin hesitated.

"I haven't even touched you guys." Naruto pointed out.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sanji questioned.

"I'll sink this ship." Naruto answered.

"What!?" The cooks cried, "What the hell is he talking about!? Hell no!"

"Don't you dare destroy our restaurant!" The pirates shouted in protest.

"Gin! Don't just stand there! Kill Zeff!" The ruthless pirate fleet admiral ordered.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Sanji grabbed Naruto by the shoulder, "Why the hell do you think I've been working on this restaurant!?"

"Yeah, but if the restaurant sinks then their plan will be ruined." Naruto reminded him. Zeff had a wise smile on his face at this.

"You have no idea what this restaurant means to me!" Sanji shouted at his face. Naruto slapped his hand away from him.

"And you think you can repay your debt to him by death?" Naruto asked.

"What!?" Sanji yelled.

"You won't be repaying any debt by dying!" Naruto grabbed him by his collar, "Do you think he saved you just for you to go and die! Only a little bitch goes and does something like that!"

"What the hell would you know about it!?" Sanji shouted.

"Now, now. Stop fighting you two," Pearl acted like a teacher, "it's just your bad fortune that you have to fight against the Krieg Pirates, you just picked the wrong enemies. There's nothing you can do to us with our hostage! Now! Burn with my fire pearls!"

"And you!" Naruto glared at him as he infused as much energy as he could into his right hand, causing it to have a sort of blue aura around it, "**Akuma Fokkusu Ken!(2.)**" Naruto punched Pearl's front plate with all of his strength, causing the plate to smash apart, leaving Naruto's knuckles bleeding.

"Good job! Naruto!" Luffy cheered.

"Yeah! Go kid!" The cooks cheered.

"You got to him before me." Gin stated as he threw the shotgun down and instead held two tonfa with iron balls tipped on the edge.

"Gin!?" The pirates exclaimed.

"What the hell are you doing Gin!?" The Don shouted, rage was filling him up from what he was seeing.

"Sorry Don Krieg," Gin apologized, "but please let me fight them." Krieg scanned the battlefield for a few moments.

"Fine." He gave permission.

"Thank you…Don Krieg." Gin got into a battle stance. Suddenly, Naruto felt a surge of fatigue occur throughout his body.

"Sanji…do you think you could fight him? I'm a bit…tired…" Naruto fell back, only to be caught by Patty.

"Don't worry, I got you." He said as he dragged him over to where the other cooks were.

'_What the hell is this?_' Naruto thought, '_Why do I feel so exhausted? I didn't use up all my energy…so why do I feel so depleted of it?_'

"Here kid, lemme patch you up." One of the cooks with some bandages for his knuckles approached him.

"Don't worry I'm alright. The pain'll go in about an hour." Naruto shook him off.

"A-are you sure?" He asked.

"I'm sure." Naruto confirmed as he started to watch the fight between Gin and Sanji.

"Sanji, I wanted you to leave this ship without hurting you, but it seems it can't be that way." Gin informed.

"Seems that way." Sanji agreed.

"The least I could do is kill you myself." Gin replied.

"Ha, thank you," Sanji thanked, "now can you go eat shit and die please?"

"You too, blonde. It would've been better if you had left with your crewmates." Gin told Naruto.

"Nah…not like you weaklings could beat me anyway…" Naruto replied tiredly.

"H-how dare you!" The pirates exclaimed, offended by his comment, "We're the Krieg Pirates! The strongest crew in all of the East Blue!"

"No, you're just the biggest." Naruto smirked.

"Ahh!" The pirates exclaimed.

"Looks like you're right with that." Sanji smirked.

"Baka! You're exhausted! Don't provoke them!" The cooks shouted, "You're still up against Don Krieg, his power is the real deal!"

"That dimwit…" Patty muttered.

"Haha!" Zeff laughed.

"That's it! We'll kill you!" The pirates started to climb back onto the platform whose fires had been burnt out due to Naruto's technique.

"Step back! The lot of you!" Don Krieg ordered.

"D-Don Krieg!" The pirates yelled.

"Anyone who gets angry over being called weak is indirectly admitting that they're weak," Krieg informed them, "the final result is what decides who's strong and whose not. Don't start whining for nothing."

"Yes Don!" The pirates obeyed his orders obediently and stood down.

"Talk about leadership…" Patty mumbled.

"The title 'Don' isn't just for show." Carne told him.

"Brat," Krieg pointed towards Naruto, "you seem smart enough, who'd you think is more suited for being the Pirate King. Me or your baka of a captain?"

"Luffy." Naruto replied without any hesitation.

"Don't egg him on further!" Patty chided.

"Alright, move it men." Krieg ordered as he pulled off his right shoulder guard.

"It can't be!" The pirates screamed in fear. Luffy, realising that something big was going to happen; leapt across to the broken fins to make sure that Naruto and his potential cook were all right.

"I can take whatever he throws at us!" Luffy assured them.

"I'm gonna teach you the true meaning of strength…" The Don held up his shoulder guard proudly.

"It's MH5!" The pirates screamed in fear.

"Wha…Don please wait!" Gin pleaded.

"If it's just a cannonball I can bounce it back." Luffy stated.

"Please Don! Allow me to kill this man myself!" Gin begged.

"Whether I kill him or you kill him the result will remain the same," Don Krieg stated, "there's nothing I hate more, than people who believe in foolish things like 'honour' and 'compassion'. Listen well, we're in a battle and in a battle you do everything you can to win, even if it means playing dirty!" The shoulder guard split into two halves and out of those halves emerged a cannon of sorts, "Even if it means using a poison gas bomb!"

"P-poison gas!" Sanji cried.

"Don!" Gin cried.

"One whiff of this and your dead!" Krieg announced, "This is strength!" He fired the missile and it flew straight for the restaurant."

"Ahh! Dive into the sea!" The cooks shouted as they went underwater in an attempt to escape the gas.

"It's coming!" Gin cried.

"Heh! I'll just knock it down into the sea!" Luffy stated as he ran for the bomb.

"Oi! Wait!" Sanji exclaimed, but he didn't listen to the warnings.

"I'm not afraid of some poison gas!" Luffy declared, as he got ready to punch the bomb.

"Heh…" Krieg held a smug grin.

"No…" Gin figured it out, "that's not it! Straw-hat! That's not it!" But before Luffy could hear the bomb exploded into shrapnel, cutting him severely.

"Arghh!" Luffy cried out.

"What is that!? Shrapnel!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"Aghh!" Luffy cried as he crashed back into the broken fin, "Ugh! Owwww!"

"A shrapnel shell!? Phew! Just a trick!" The pirates sighed a sigh of relief.

"Huh? What happened to the poison gas?" Luffy asked as he looked around.

"A little slow don't you think!?" Sanji yelled.

"Please! A single one of those bombs could wipe out an entire village, as if I'd use it on you!" Krieg laughed.

"I see, he got me good." Luffy agreed.

"Why the hell's he agreeing with him?" Zeff questioned.

"That is what a battle is! I've got more ways to kill you than I can count!" Krieg announced, "Now I'll ask you once more! Brat! Who's more fit to be Pirate King!? Me or him!"

"Me." Luffy answered for his nakama. This enraged Don Krieg more than anything else.

"Gin! You're responsible for killing the cook!" Krieg ordered, "But I'm killing this straw-hat wearing baka!"

"D-Don Krieg's really pissed off!" The pirates commented.

"Understood, Don," Gin answered, "sorry Sanji…but you can't win."

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Sanji retorted.

"Brat…I'll demonstrate to you the might of the king of the East Blue." Krieg told Luffy.

"Keep talking and I'll send you flying!" Luffy shouted, "Just sit still and I'll come over to you!"

"You're stupid enough to try and come over here again!? Hahaha!" Krieg laughed.

"Here I come!" Gin announced as he rushed at Sanji, twirling his tonfa.

"Kill him Gin!" The pirates cheered. Gin slammed his tonfa into the wood.

"Hm?" Sanji questioned his tactics, Gin sent loads of wood pieces at Sanji, who jumped just in time to dodge, "Woah! Damn you!" Sanji sent Gin a kick, which he smoothly dodged.

"Allow me to tell you my nickname," Gin stated, "Gin the Man-Demon," Gin got his tonfa around Sanji's neck and held him down against the platform while he sat down, "I don't hold any sympathy for you anymore," he then started spinning his other tonfa, "at the very least, I'll kill you without leaving a disfigured corpse behind!"

"Yeah! Go Battle Commander!" The pirates cheered.

"Sanji!" All the cooks cried out. Sanji took a deep inhale of his cigarette and blew the smoke at Gin's face.

"Ack!" Gin coughed, slightly raising the tonfa that was keeping Sanji from moving, that slight raise was all Sanji needed as he slipped underneath and perform a handstand enabling himself to stand yet again, but before he was up in a fully vertical position. Sanji kicked Gin punishingly in the face, "Agh!" Gin returned by slamming his deadly tonfa into the side of Sanji's chest. They were both sent to the ground.

"T-that cook! He hit Gin!" The pirates exclaimed in shock, "You don't think he could beat him! Do you!?"

"Hmph, why are you doubting Gin's fighting ability?" Krieg asked, "You've all seen what he's capable of. He's a calm, collected 'Demon'. It's exactly because of that devious nature that he's battle commander. He'll show his true abilities in just a little while."

"T-the Don's right," The pirates agreed, "Gin's a heartless killer. He kills his enemies without a shred of compassion, that's why he's called the 'Man-Demon'."

"I-is Sanji alright?" Patty asked.

"How could he be!? He already sustained a hell of a lot of damage from that shield-wearing bastard earlier…" Carne answered.

"You're pretty weak, Mr. Battle Commander," Sanji taunted, "Guess the 'mighty' Krieg Pirates are nothing but talk."

"Oh!" Luffy exclaimed as he figured out a plan, "He's not looking! Perfect chance to send him flying!" He started rushing across the mast to get to Krieg, "Doahhh!"

"No need to be impatient." The Don held up his shoulder guard that revealed several barrels around the edge, he then flicked something into the water.

"Hm?" Luffy questioned, before he knew it an explosion occurred in underwater and water burst out of the sea like a volcano, "Ahh!"

"Don't worry! I'll kill you in due time!" Krieg declared as he shot multiple spears through the shield of water. Luffy, unable to see the oncoming attacks, had very little reaction time.

"Agh! Spears!" Luffy ran away and dodged as much as he could, but unfortunately one managed to hit him in the thigh, "Arghh!" Luffy fell off the mast and started falling into the ocean, "Ahh! Crap the ocean!" Luffy managed to kick the side of the mast giving him momentum to just land on the platform.

"Ahh you got away, hammer boy." Krieg smirked.

"Hey bastard! Do you wanna fight or not!?" Luffy shouted.

"Do I want to fight you? Ha! I hardly need to," Krieg replied, "The only thing I need in a battle are methods to kill you, that is the true might of a human! You on the other hand, can only charge without using your head. You are the equivalent to a monkey!"

"Oo-oo-ahh-ahh!" Luffy started to imitate a monkey, "Underestimate monkeys and you'll get clawed!"

"Finish him! Gin!" The pirates cheered.

"About time…" Krieg smirked. In the time it took for Luffy and Krieg to have a slight scuffle, Gin had managed to beat Sanji to a bloody pulp.

"Gyahahaha! His bones are all cracked now!" The pirates cheered.

"Damn it! If it wasn't for that shield man, Sanji would've been able to take him one!" The cooks shouted.

"Hah…those skewered dango of yours…are pretty weak…small fry." Sanji taunted.

'_Damn…he's strong as hell!_' Sanji thought to himself.

"Time to put an end to this! Stop struggling and die!" Gin shouted as he launched another swipe at Sanji, to which he simply dodged via a handstand.

"Hah! Are you going easy!?" Sanji shouted, "To hell with you!" He slammed his leg down onto Gin's head.

"Ahh! Gin!" The pirates cried.

"Gyaa!" Sanji cried out as he fell to the ground.

"Shit! He can't even withstand the force of his own kicks!" Carne exclaimed.

"Bwahahaha! He's hopeless!" The pirates laughed.

"Heh." Krieg smirked at his Battle Commander's victory. Gin sat on Sanji with one hand around his neck and the other around his tonfa.

"You son of a…" Sanji stopped when he noticed the tears flowing from Gin's eyes.

"Don Krieg!" Gin cried, "I can't! I just can't kill this man!"

"What?" Krieg stated, not believing what he had just heard.

"Gin…" Luffy looked on.

"I simply can't kill him!" Gin yelled.

"What did you just say!?" Krieg shouted.

"Because…" Gin started to explain.

"Say that to me one more time!" Krieg ordered.

"No one has treated me so nicely…in my entire life!" Gin explained, "That's why…I just can't kill him!"

"Coward!" Don Krieg lifted up his shoulder guard.

"N-no! I-it can't be…Don!?" The pirates exclaimed.

"You can't kill him? How disappointing," Krieg sighed, "I always thought that you were my most loyal subordinate. I thought you could adhere to my philosophy of war and battles more than anyone else. The reason I placed you as Battle Commander was because your fighting abilities were ruthless and your willingness to win no matter the means!"

"I know Don," Gin replied, "I don't want to betray you…but I don't want to kill Sanji either. I deeply admire your strength, Don. You could even say I'm grateful…but…I just can't bring myself to kill this man! Don Krieg! If it's possible…if there's the slightest chance possible…could we please…give up on this ship?"

"Gin! How could you!?" The pirates exclaimed.

"I misjudged you!"

"What happened to you Gin!?"

"You! My most loyal subordinate dares defy my order!?" Krieg shouted in uncontrollable rage, "Have you gone insane!?" Krieg revealed the cannon-like barrel inside his shoulder guard yet again.

"Aghh! It's MH5! For real this time!" The pirates exclaimed.

"The poison gas?" The cooks mumbled.

"That bastard!" Luffy cursed.

"But Don! We were saved because of this restaurant!" Gin pleaded.

"Throw away your gas mask Gin! You're no longer part of my crew." Krieg ordered ruthlessly.

"Wha…Don…Krieg…." Gin couldn't comprehend what was going on right now.

"The Don's really planning on killing him!" The pirates discussed, "How could he!? There's no one more loyal to him than Gin!"

"I'll never let you fire that!" Luffy declared as he started racing across the mast again.

"Nuisance!" Krieg yelled as he fired more spears at Luffy.

"Heh! That won't work on me twice!" Luffy jumped over to the side and swung underneath the mast and starting crawling that way.

"Damn it hammer boy! I'll kill you in due time!" Krieg smashed his fist into the mast, causing it to start falling into the water.

"Ahh! It's sinking!" Luffy was able to get up onto the only stable part left and rolled backwards onto the fin, "Gin! You don't have to follow a coward like him! I'll beat him in an instant!"

"Errand-boy…" Sanji mumbled as he looked on at his unwavering determination.

"Straw-hat! Don't you dare insult the Don!" Gin yelled, "He's the strongest man I know! You don't have a chance of beating him."

"Open your eyes!" Sanji shouted, "He's trying to kill you!"

"Of course, I'm just a useless failure who broke the crew's code of law because my compassion got in the way," Gin stated as he threw his gas mask into the water, "this is what I deserve!"

"What!? Why!?" Sanji exclaimed.

"**Modoku Gas Dan MH5!**" Don Krieg yelled as he unleashed the powerful poison gas bomb.

"It's coming!" The pirates exclaimed as they put their gas masks on.

"Dive underwater as far as you can!" The cooks exclaimed.

"I'm borrowing these for a second!" Luffy grabbed two masks off of some pirates, "Hey! Use these!" Luffy threw them to Sanji and Gin, he turned back to get one for himself but all the pirates had dived underwater, "Aghh! There all gone!"

"Sir! We have to head back as far as we can in the restaurant!" Patty shouted as he carried Zeff and Carne carried the lighter Naruto into the restaurant.

"What do I do!?" Luffy screamed in peril, his questions were answered with a gas mask landing beside him, "Hm?"

"This is might." Krieg stated with his own gas mask on. The gas bomb exploded, causing poisonous gas to spread everywhere.

"Whew…I'm saved…" Luffy stated from within the poison with a mask on, "thank god I found this lying around just in time."

"Pirates using posion gas! This is unheard of!" The cooks resurfaced when they were far enough away that the gas wouldn't affect them, "He's a demon I tell you!" Five minutes later they were still watching and waiting for any sort of movement to occur, "Do you think Sanji and errand boy are alright? It's been five minutes? Hey…look! The poison's clearing up!" The poison gas revealed Gin holding a gas mask at Sanji, refusing to let go.

"Gin! Move your hand!" Sanji yelled, but Gin ignored it.

"Gin!" Luffy yelled, "Where's your mask!?"

"Ugh…" Gin moaned as he tried to stay strong.

"Didn't I give you a mask?" Luffy asked, but then he realised. The mask that he had used was the one he gave Gin.

"Gin!" Sanji and Luffy cried as he threw up large amounts of blood nonstop.

"Hahahahaha! What a fool! But that's what he gets for thinking that he's eternally indebted to you for some food," Krieg laughed, "well…bakas never understand now do they? Ahahahahaha!"

"D-don…" Gin cried weakly.

"You chose the wrong man to follow." Sanji informed the dying Gin.

"KRIEG!" Luffy shouted as he glared at the man with anger.

"Ahahaha! Feeling sorry for that useless failure!?" Krieg taunted.

"Ugh…Kyaa…" Gin moaned.

"Useless…failure?" Sanji glared at the man.

"Of course, what else would you call a baka like him?" Krieg asked, "He may continue to repeat to make mistakes in the future, It's best to kill him now."

"I can't believe it! Don's actually gonna kill Gin!" The pirates exclaimed.

"Sanji!?" Patty exclaimed as he ran out of the restaurant.

"Ahh! That's Krieg's Battle Commander! He must've gotten the full blast of that poison gas!" Carne shouted.

"Patty don't you have some sort of antidote!?" Sanji asked.

"Y-yeah…but it's usually for food poisoning," Patty answered, "and besides that guy's the enemy."

"Whatever! Bring it here now!" Sanji demanded.

"Baka," Zeff stated, "put the mask on him, it must contain an antidote of some sorts. Take him to the second floor and have him breathe with that mask on. If there's even the slightest chance of him surviving, that's the first step."

"Patty! Carne! Get your asses over here!" Sanji ordered.

"A-alright! Don't yell!" Patty ran over.

"Me too!?" Carne followed.

"Don't you dare die Gin!" Luffy demanded.

"Hmph, it's futile. He'll die in an hour or so." Krieg smirked.

"Don't you dare be killed by a guy like him!" Luffy shouted as Patty and Carne carried him away, "Hang in there! I'm gonna beat him!"

"N…no, stop…you…can't…hope to…beat him…" Gin wheezed out through the mask. Luffy started marching towards Krieg, only to be stopped by Sanji holding his arm.

"Stop! Calm down! You're doing exactly what he wants you to do! You'll get yourself killed that way!" Sanji shouted.

"I'm not gonna die," Luffy shook off his hand and rushed at Krieg once again, "if you wanna shoot at me then shoot!"

"Hey!" Sanji cried.

"Fool…" Krieg smirked, "there's nothing easier to kill than a worked up baka."

"Fine! Do whatever the hell you want!" Sanji muttered.

"I've heard that even monkeys learn from their mistakes. Looks like you're dumber than a monkey ain't that right, hammer boy?" Krieg taunted.

"I'm just bad at giving up!" Luffy shot right back.

"The ocean is your grave! If you try to jump my spears will pierce straight through you! Die!" Krieg threw several tiny bombs into the water.

"He's shooting his bombs again!" The cooks exclaimed, "He's gonna make a screen!" It indeed made a screen of water and Krieg sent multiple spears through it.

"He's hit!" Sanji exclaimed after he heard the sound of blood squirting.

"Hahaha…is he already dead?" Krieg asked arrogantly, only for Luffy to burst from the water seemingly unfazed by the spear, "Annoying little.." Luffy fell forward onto his hands and sent his left leg into the sky, then straight back down into the water, causing his own screen of water, "using my own tricks against me…sneaky!" Luffy threw his fist back far, "Looks as if you're gonna stop at nothing to hit me," Krieg turned his fur-lined cape inside out to reveal a spike-lined interior, "try and hit me with my Kenzan Cape!"

"That dirty son of a bitch!" Sanji cursed.

"Ahh! He can't hit him now! Not with that thing protecting him!" The cooks exclaimed.

"Hahaha! You can't lay a finger on me!" Krieg laughed.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy ignored everything that Krieg had to say and smashed his fist into Krieg's face, through the spiked cape, "**Bullet!**"

"What!?" The pirates were shocked to say the least as Krieg was sent flying.

"What a reckless guy!" Sanji commented.

"With his bare hands! Oww!" The cooks held their hands just thinking about the pain it must've caused him.

"Aghh! Don Krieg was knocked out!" The pirates exclaimed, "I've never seen the Don even on his knees, much less flat on his face! That kid just punched the Don right in the face through the spiked-cape!"

"Now is this place really my grave?" Luffy asked as he pulled out the spear that had pierced him, "Or yours? Yours or mine? Which is it!? But don't you dare answer that with stupid spears and spiky capes! This ain't the place for me to die!"

"Talk about idiotic." Sanji stated.

"Take a close look Sanji." Zeff told him.

"Breathe! Breathe! C'mon! Do you need any water!?" Patty yelled from the second level of the Baratie.

"Hang in there!" Carne yelled.

"Oh! Do you want some of our special pudding!?" Patty asked out of nowhere.

"You baka! What good would feeding him more poison do!?" Carne shouted.

"What do you mean poison!?" Patty yelled.

"Meat dishes are by far better than your desserts!" Carne told him. Their arguments were ceased by Gin throwing up more blood.

"Aghh! Don't die!" They cried. Back on the fin Zeff was still talking to Sanji.

"Once in a while, guys like him appear. Idiots that fight to the death once they decide on a goal." Zeff stated.

"Fight to the death…" Sanji repeated.

"A guy like him is the worst enemy you could possibly face…" Zeff smiled, "whether he wins or loses this fight, I like guys like him."

"W-who's gonna win this fight now?" The pirates discussed.

"You dumbass! That was just a fluke! A fluke! There's nothing to worry about!"

"Y-yeah…I hope."

"E-Errand-boy! You can do it!" The cooks cheered.

"If this…" Krieg slowly started to get up, "isn't your grave…then exactly…" Krieg smashed his shoulder guard into Luffy's body, "Whose is it!?" Luffy was sent into the air, "It has to be yours!" Krieg aimed his spears at him again, to which Luffy grinned madly. He used the many pieces of wood to performed a backflip behind Krieg and whilst still in airborne, he launched a devastating kick to Krieg's head.

"No! It's yours!" Luffy shouted as the mighty ruler of the East Blue was sent to the ground yet again.

"H-he knocked the Don down again! He should've died without even having to lay a finger on him!" The pirates exclaimed, "Who the hell is he!?"

"That kid can fight, that's for sure." Patty commented from above.

"He's definitely strong enough to match Don…at this rate…he might even…" The pirates started discussing.

"Shut your mouths!" Krieg shouted as he clamped his two shoulder guards together and swung it at Luffy who managed to dodge just in time. Good thing to, as the platform they were standing on split in two due to the power of the weapon.

"I-it's the Daisenso!" The pirates exclaimed, "He took it out! The most powerful weapon in his entire arsenal!"

"I'll look forward to seeing you deal with this…hammer brat…" Krieg stated, "Unlike my spears where you could afford to take two or three hits with them…if you take even one hit with this…you'll be blown to smithereens!"

"What?" Luffy asked.

"Arghh!" Krieg raised his spear and struck where Luffy was, he barely escaped the explosion.

"What's with that spear!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"Ah! I'm falling!" Luffy was able to stretch to a nearby piece of the galleon, "Phew. What's up with that spear? It explodes every time it touches something."

"This fight isn't looking too good, the longer it takes, the worse off he'll be, plus he's losing too much blood!" Sanji muttered.

"It's the end of the line for you." Krieg informed.

"Damn it, I can't fight at all by jumping across these little 'islands'." Luffy stated, referring to the pieces of the galleon.

"Heh…he can't escape now," The pirates stated, "the harder the swing the bigger the explosion," Krieg attempted to stab him, but the straw-hat wearing captain ducked, narrowly avoiding it, "woah! Look at captain go! The spear weighs well over a ton yet he's swinging it around like nothing! It's undeniable proof that Don Krieg's the strongest!"

"Woah!" Luffy narrowly dodged yet another blow by leaping back, however, he had nowhere to land and he was stuck in the air.

"Got you now!" Krieg swung at Luffy again.

"Agh!" Luffy threw his hands at the spear in an attempt to stop the blow, but it didn't work. The spear swung at full force, creating an explosion where he was positioned. When the smoke cleared Luffy was nowhere to be seen.

"Guess he's nothing anymore." The Don smirked.

"Whew. Close call." Luffy said as he held onto the shaft of the spear, enraging Krieg even more.

"You litte maggot!" Krieg swung the spear into the platform they were standing on again, creating another explosion.

"Ah!" Luffy managed to let go of the spear just before it crashed into the 'island', but the Don took advantage of the momentary flight of air Luffy had. He attempted to stab at the boy, only for him to smash his fists together and while that did indeed stop the spear from piercing his chest. It didn't stop the explosion from occurring afterwards.

"Errand-boy!" Sanji yelled.

"I ain't done with you yet!" Krieg smirked as Luffy was sent to another piece of the former Krieg pirate ship, "After angering me to this extent! There'll be nothing left of you once I'm finished!"

"One more…" Luffy said weakly as he made no attempt to dodge the oncoming explosion as it blew up in his face sending him flying yet again.

"Have you finally realised that the strongest man in the world is none other than me!?" Krieg shouted.

"Errand-boy!" Sanji cried.

"No! He's done for!" The cooks yelled. Luffy smirked as he brought his left leg down onto the wide platform they were on. The shockwave caused by that was all that was needed to shatter the tip of the spear.

"W-wha!? My Daisenso! What did you do!?" Krieg exclaimed.

"I punched it five times!" Luffy grinned madly, "Now get ready! Cause on this wide, open platform, I'll send you flying!"

"What!?" Krieg shouted.

"With that spear-tip broken, it's nothing but a bomb on a stick," Luffy continued grinning, "I must've reduced its power by at least half."

"Is that you think?" Krieg smirked.

"U…unbelieveable! To think that Don Krieg's most powerful weapon, could be broken!" The pirates exclaimed.

"He did it! He really did it!" The cooks cheered.

"Considering that even a mere bomb on a stick could still easily blow you away, I'd say that I've got more than enough power to win," Krieg explained, "not only that, but you're bleeding all over and took two blasts from my Daisenso."

"That's right! With all of the injuries that errand-boy sustained and all the blood he's lost he should be on the verge of collapsing," Sanji agreed, "only one more blast from that spear and he'll be killed! With all those armour and weapons it's almost impossible to beat him!"

"Sanji…no matter how many hundreds of weapons or armour one is equipped with, they're no match for spirit and guts," Zeff explained, "on the battlefield where life and death are decided, the one who fears death and hesitates for even a second shall die instantly."

"What do you mean?" Sanji asked.

"Within that boy, if nothing else," Zeff smiled warmly, "lays no hesitation. Perhaps it stems from his complete readiness to survive no matter what the cost, or his conviction that fears nothing, not even death."

"Conviction?" Sanji questioned.

"Say goodbye!" Krieg yelled as he raised his spear, well bomb on a stick, once again, "Ever since the fight began, your death was set in stone!"

"Ha! As if!" Luffy stuck his tongue out and jumped back just in time before he was caught in another explosion. He jumped up and caught a hold of the broken yard of the mast, "Hit me if you can!"

"Damn monkey!" Krieg muttered as he swung again, only to have Luffy swing around on the yard.

"Oo-oo-ahh-ahh!" He started to imitate a monkey in an attempt to anger Krieg.

"Just die!" Krieg demanded as he burst the mast that Luffy was swinging on, as it was falling, Luffy ripped off a piece of the yard and used it as his own spear and threw it at Krieg, "Hmph…simple." Krieg smirked as he revealed a wrist-mounted flamethrower that burned through the wood.

"A flamethrower!? How many weapons does this guy have!?" Sanji exclaimed.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy started to the punch the air multiple times, giving the illusion that he had hundreds of arms, "**Gatling!**" He hit Krieg dead in the chest hundreds of times, but it seemed as if he was unfazed.

"Kuhahahaha!" Krieg laughed, "Futile! Nothing can hurt me through this wootz steel armour!"

"And…" Luffy stretched out his arm and ran forward, "**Bullet!**" Luffy gave a powerful punch directly to Krieg's abdomen.

"D-Don!" The pirates exclaimed.

"Insolent monkey!" Krieg shouted as he swung his spear, Luffy narrowly avoiding it, "Nothing can break my armour! Nothing!"

"I'd say I'm just about there…" Luffy mumbled as blood flowed from all over his body. Krieg walked up the mast to a high advantage point.

"Can't you see? Having the greatest armour and weapons, equates to the greatest might!?" Krieg yelled, "And those who defy the strong are doomed to die. Hammer brat." Krieg smirked as he threw down more bombs.

"Ahh! He's gonna destroy the platform! Run errand-boy!" The cooks cried.

"Fuhahahaha! It's over!" The pirates cheered.

"Only the strong survive!" Krieg shouted.

"Which would be me!" Luffy grinned as he ran up the mast, dodging the bombs.

"Baka! You're doing exactly what he wants!" Sanji yelled.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy outstretched both his hands backwards as he continued to rush forward.

"How useless…that's exactly what I wanted you to do!" Krieg brought his spear up and swung it at Luffy, a large explosion occurring because of it, "There are some things that you can't overcome with willpower alone." However, Luffy charged through the explosion as if it were nothing, "Wha!?"

"**Bazooka!**" Luffy smashed his two hands into the Don, sending him flying in the air.

"Kuhahahaha! I told you! It's all-futile! Now die in this explosion!" Krieg laughed maniacally as the bombs exploded on the platform, with Luffy being caught in it.

"Errand-boy!" Sanji exclaimed.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy stated from above Krieg in the air.

"Wha!? How'd you escape!?" Krieg shouted.

"**Bazooka!**" Luffy slammed his hands into Krieg's torso guard, this time, completely destroying it.

"Kyaa!" Krieg threw up loads of blood. Luffy grinned at his success.

"Don!" The pirates cried.

"Yeah! Errand-boy! He did it!" The cooks cheered.

"It's too early for celebrations hammer boy!" Krieg screamed as he threw an iron net around Luffy.

"Ahh! He's still alive!?" Luffy shouted.

"Kuhahahahaha! You can't escape!" Krieg screamed, "Below us is the sea! You're gonna drown! I'll win! I always win!"

"Hahaha! That's our Don!" The pirates cheered, "Kill the rubber kid!"

"As long as I can still stretch my arms and legs, I've still won!" Luffy declared as he stretched his arms and legs outside the net.

"That bastard! He's still trying to fight!? But the ocean should be his weak point!" The pirates exclaimed.

'_He doesn't hesitate…not even for an instant…how can he…?_' Sanji thought. Luffy twisted his legs around until his feet held the sides of Krieg's head.

'_Who the hell is this guy!? Despite my countless weapons! Despite my strength!_' Don Krieg thought angrily.

"How can he keep fighting?" Zeff asked.

"Hm?" Sanji questioned.

"Is that what you were wondering?" Zeff asked.

'_How can he keep charging at me!? I'm the great pirate fleet admiral Don Krieg!_' The Don thought.

"Give me some support! Bastards!" Krieg ordered his subordinates.

"Right!" The pirates all pulled crossbows out of the water and aimed at Luffy, "Shoot him at once!"

"Don't you dare," Sanji threatened as he stood on two of the pirate's heads, "or I'll kill all of you." Luffy started spinning Krieg in his feet.

"**Gomu Gomu no…**" Luffy slammed his head against the fin, "**Ozuchi!**"

"Gyaaa!" Krieg cried in pain.

"Ahhh! Don Krieg!" The pirates cried.

"Way to go! Errand-boy!" The cooks cheered.

"H…he really did it! He defeated the pirate fleet admiral Don Krieg!" Patty exclaimed.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Naruto asked as he slowly stood up and started walking downstairs to the fin.

"Hey! You're still injured!" Carne stated.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Naruto ignored his warnings. Due to the momentum that Luffy created, still in his iron net, he fell into the sea and started sinking.

"If that fleet that Krieg amassed, along with the hundreds of weapons, armours, and even his poison gas can be seen as his 'might'," Zeff stated, "then the 'spear' of that boy is his own league of might all the same."

"Spear…" Sanji mumbled, "conviction…"

"Don! Hang in there!" The pirates exclaimed as they tried to recover their fallen captain, "Dam it! How could our Don have been defeated!?"

"I happen to know of a certain baka who'd stifle that very spear for no good reason," Zeff stated referring to Sanji, "what're you sitting there for? Hurry up and rescue him cause he ain't coming back up on his own. Those with Akuma no Mi abilities are hated by the sea and therefore cannot swim."

"What!? You could've told me that before! Damn geezer!" Sanji threw off his shoes and shirt and dived after him immediately.

"Hmf…" Zeff smiled.

"Krieg lost…?" Gin asked from the second level, "as if that could ever happen…he's the supreme ruler of the seas."

"You can deny it all you want but he was beaten, just look!" Patty pointed to the body of Krieg.

"His armour's in pieces!" Carne stated.

"He's…the only man…I ever admired! I believed he was the strongest." Gin stated as he started to stand up.

"H-hey! Don't move! The poison might spread!" Patty shouted.

"Y-y-yeah! Don't move!" Carne agreed. Sanji emerged from the sea with a loud gasp while holding Luffy.

"Hey, don't die on me." Sanji smirked as he tapped Luffy on the head.

"Aren't I the strongest!?" The heard the infamous voice of Don Krieg scream, "No one dares go against me! I've won all of my battles! There's no way someone can match my strength!"

"Don! Please stop!" The pirates pleaded, "If you keep yelling those injuries will expand!"

"Krieg!" Sanji exclaimed.

"I win…and w…ill…con…tinue…" Krieg sputtered out more blood, "to win! I am the strongest!" Krieg was silenced by a strong punch to the gut courtesy of Gin.

"Don Krieg, we've lost." Gin stated as he heaved the heavy man onto his shoulder.

"Battle Commander!" The pirates exclaimed.

"Let's retreat, and start anew," Gin told the crew, "thanks for everything, Sanji."

"Yeah, please don't come again." Sanji lit a cigarette.

"Hey! Did you forget!? You inhaled poison! Deadly! Deadly! Poison!" Patty exclaimed.

"What're you planning to do with the very man that tried to kill you!?" Carne questioned.

"Sanji, when the kid wakes up, could you pass the message onto him?" Gin asked, "Let's meet again out on the Grand Line."

"You're gonna keep being a pirate?" Sanji questioned.

"Psh…you never learn." Patty sighed.

"When I think about it, there's nothing else I wanna do, I guess before I realised it Don Krieg's ambition became mine." Gin stated before his mouth practically exploded with blood.

"Gin!" Sanji and the pirates exclaimed.

"I might…only…have a few…more hours to live," Gin started, "so it may be a bit cowardly for me to make this decision at the end of my life, but it's still good for me nonetheless. I've decided that this time, I'm doing things my way. If I do that I won't have to runaway anymore. Ha. Loyalty to the Don, my ass! All I've been doing is using the Don's name as a shield to escape and hide behind. As long as you're prepared, things like being scared of your enemies or getting hurt are nothing but useless worrying. That guy over there taught me it's better not to worry about any of that stuff."

"Patty! Carne! Give them the ship we use to go out and buy ingredients!" Sanji ordered.

"Are you retarded!?" Patty cried.

"Why would we give our own boat to the very same people that attacked us!?" Carne exclaimed.

"Shut up and give them the boat already!" Sanji demanded.

"Alright…" Carne turned around.

"No need to yell…" Patty turned around as well, "why that son of a bitch! I swear I'm gonna kill that bastard one day!"

"Always ordering us around!" Carne shouted, "But he's inherited the owner's amazing kicks!"

"Maybe if fifteen of us attack him in his sleep we might win!" Patty stated.

"Might!?" Carne exclaimed. Three hours after the event occurred, Luffy woke up in what looked like a medic bay with bandages all over his body.

"My hat!" Luffy cried.

"It's right there." Sanji sighed from outside the doorway.

"Oh, yeah." Luffy grinned as he placed his signature hat back on his head.

"Sorry, we ran out of bandages." Sanji apologized.

"Don't need them," Luffy pulled off the painful bandages, "what happened to those guys?"

"They've left, thanks to you," Sanji took a deep inhale of his cigarette, "Let's meet on the Grand Line, that's what Gin said before he left."

"Cool, he said that to you?" Luffy asked.

"No! To you shitty dumbass!" Sanji shouted.

"Oh, you're awake Luffy." Naruto pointed out as he walked by.

"Yep! Ah! My days as an errand-boy are finally over! Cause of that promise I made to the owner!" Luffy cheered, "So then! Sanji, you wanna-"

"I ain't gonna be a pirate," Sanji answered, "I'm gonna stay here until that damn geezer acknowledges my cooking. After something like this, I must stay. The cooks here are completely undependable. But I would like to go out to the Grand Line one of these days."

"Then let's go right now!" Luffy offered.

"Not just now though," Sanji answered, "Hey…do you know about the All Blue?"

"No." Luffy and Naruto answered.

"What? You've never heard of the ocean of miracles?" Sanji asked with a smirk on his face.

"Miracles!?" Luffy exclaimed.

"Yep, you see in the All Blue…" Sanji started to explain the wonders of the sea with as much child-like enthusiasm as a he did when he was younger, little did the know Zeff was above them.

"Talking with such a stupid wide grin on your face," Zeff smiled at his protégé, "baka."

**Employee Dining Hall**

"Time for some grub! Bastards!" Patty exclaimed.

"Who's in charge of cooking today?" One of the cooks asked.

"That'd be me!" Patty answered.

"And me!" Carne stated.

"Oh…the hellish duo, nothing to look forward to." The cook stated.

"Just shut up and eat!" Patty ordered. The door opened to reveal Luffy, Naruto

and Sanji.

"Hey, where our seats?" Sanji asked.

"There aren't any chairs for you," The cooks answered, "just eat on the floor."

"What'd you mean there aren't any chairs!? This is a restaurant!" Sanji sighed as he grabbed a plate of food, "Fine, whatever."

"Something's strange about them." Luffy stated as he sat on the floor.

"Something's always strange about them." Sanji replied.

"Hey! Who was the one who made the soup!?" Patty yelled.

"That'd be me!" Sanji answered, "Pretty good huh? I made it especially-" Sanji was silenced as Patty threw it on the floor, shattering the plate and spilling the soup over the floor.

"How the hell am I supposed to eat that shit!" Patty shouted. Filling Sanji up with uncontrollable anger.

"Is human food not suited to you, you shitty racoon?" Sanji asked.

"This is pure crap of the highest quality, makes me wanna puke!" Patty shouted, "Did you actually shit in this!?"

"I'm completely confident about my soup, maybe your taste buds are screwed up." Sanji stated threateningly.

"Yuck!" Carne cried as he spat out the soup.

"Now way we can eat this filth! Throw it out! Spit, spit! Terrible! Just terrible!" The cooks cried as they spat out the soup.

"The hell do you think you're doing!" Sanji yelled.

"You being the assistant head chef is a massive sham! It's only because you've been here the longest!" Patty stated.

"I'm sick of your violent ways." Carne stated. There was another plate smashed; they turned to see Zeff above the broken plate.

"Owner!" The cooks exclaimed.

"Geezer!" Sanji muttered.

"What's with this soup? Is it supposed to taste like shit!?" Zeff questioned, "We'd go broke if we fed this type of shit to the customers!"

"Don't joke with me damn geezer!" Sanji held Zeff by the collar, "How is my soup different to yours! Tell me now!"

"The soup I make!? Don't get cocky!" Zeff yelled as he punched Sanji to the floor.

"The owner…punched him!?" Patty exclaimed.

"You're a hundred years too early to be comparing my soup to yours!" Zeff declared, "I've cooked all around the world!"

"He didn't kick him…" The cooks mumbled.

"Arghh! Damn it!" Sanji exclaimed as he stormed out of the dining hall and slammed the door on his way out.

"I think the soup's pretty good." Luffy told them.

"Yeah, what's with you guys?" Naruto asked.

"Acting is pretty hard…" The cooks mumbled, "He was really mad. Pretty scary eh?"

"Yeah, but if we didn't do that, that baka would never listen to us," Zeff told him, "Hey kid, would you mind taking the eggplant with you? Take him to the Grand Line…it's his dream." Unbeknownst to them, Sanji was just outside and could hear everything that was going on.

"I can…still hear you…bastards…" Sanji attempted to contain the tears while he heard the comments of the cooks inside.

"Phew! That was more trouble than it was worth!"

"It was hard to play along!"

"Hey, give me another helping of this soup!"

"Me too!"

"And me!"

"Don't forget me!"

"Take Sanji along?" Luffy repeated, "Don't wanna."

"Wha!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"What do you mean? Didn't you want a cook for your ship!? Are you not satisfied with him?" Zeff asked.

"Nope, I really like his cooking, and I really want him to come along with me," Luffy explained, "but he said that he didn't want to come, so even if you tell me to take him, I'm not gonna."

"So you won't accept him until he says he wants to come?" Zeff asked.

"Yup," Luffy nodded, "more soup."

"Luffy, you make everything so much more difficult." Naruto sighed.

"Well…you do have a point kid…the problem is that the baka won't be honest with himself, he's too hard-headed." Zeff explained.

"More soup." Luffy requested rudely.

"Huh…" Sanji sighed from outside.

"Dabadabadababababababa!" He heard something coming from the ocean, "Abababababababa!"

"Hm?" Sanji looked up.

"Dababababababababadadada!" The sound continued.

"What!?" Sanji exclaimed as a figure leapt out of the water.

"Aghhhh!" It exclaimed as it crashed into the Baratie, taking Sanji with it. They landed inside the employee dining hall.

"Sanji!" The cooks exclaimed, "Is it a mermaid? Did it come all the way from Fishman Island to try our cooking?"

"No baka, it's just some guy in a pandashark." Sanji answered.

"Huh…Yosaku!?" Luffy exclaimed once he realised that he was the man inside the shark's mouth.

"Ah…Luffy-aniki…" Yosaku greeted him.

"What're you doing here alone? Where are the others? What about Nami?" Luffy started asking questions.

"Better yet, why're you in a shark?" Naruto asked.

"We couldn't catch up to Nami-aniki, but from the direction she was sailing in, we're pretty sure we know where she's headed." Yosaku answered while he was given a blanket from one of the cooks.

"Good. Let's go and bring her back." Luffy stated.

"Well umm…if she's headed to where we think she's headed to…then it's an incredibly dangerous place!" Yosaku informed, "Well, I'll fill you in on the details later, in any case we need your strength! Naruto-aniki! Luffy-aniki! Please come right away!"

"I'm ready! Let's go!" Luffy stated.

"Wait," Sanji told him, "take me with you."

"What!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"Sanji…" Zeff mumbled.

"I'll accompany you on your way to becoming the Pirate King," Sanji told him, "after all we both have crazy dreams. So I'll tag along to fulfil mine as well. I'll be the cook for your ship, sound good?"

"Sounds great!" Luffy cheered, "Woohoo!"

"Finally, a cook." Naruto smirked. Luffy and Yosaku had a celebratory dance.

"So that's how it's gonna be," Sanji said as he turned to face the rest of the cooks, "sorry for all the trouble I've caused you."

"Hmph. I don't like it one bit, I wanted to be the one to throw you outta here." Patty stated.

"Sorry for making you put on that shitty performance." Sanji told them.

"Wha!? You knew!?" The cooks cried.

"I could hear you crystal clear from outside, bakas." Sanji explained.

"What!?" The cooks exclaimed.

"So…you wanted to kick me out that badly, huh? You shitty geezer?" Sanji asked.

"That's exactly right eggplant," Zeff answered, "I've always hated brats like you. There hasn't been a single day when I didn't regret saving you."

"Whatever…enjoy the few years you have left." Sanji retorted. The crew dispersed, Yosaku going with two others down to where Sanji's boat was docked.

"Wow! We can really take this!?" Yosaku exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is Sanji's after all." One of the cooks replied. Luffy was in the meat storage room.

"You wanna take more!?" The cook that was with him exclaimed.

"Yup, gimme more meat." Luffy answered.

"How many days are you gonna be sailing for?" The cook asked.

"Dunno." Luffy replied. Zeff was lying in his bed in his cabin that still had the hole from the cannonball earlier, thinking about the earlier origins of the Baratie. Sanji was sitting in the dining hall, also thinking about this.

'_Hey! Old geezer! This is amazing! This'll be the restaurant on the seas!_' Sanji remembered himself saying to the younger Zeff.

"Cook-aniki sure is late," Yosaku commented as he and the rest of the Straw-Hat Pirates sat in Sanji's boat. The rest of the cooks all formed outside, "ah, there he is." Sanji walked out of the dining hall, the cooks formed a passageway to the boat.

"Ahh! This is payback for all those years!" Patty suddenly exclaimed as he and Carne jumped behind Sanji holding giant spoons.

"Die! Sanji!" Carne shouted. Without even looking, Sanji swiftly kicked once, causing both to fall to the ground with bleeding heads.

"I said you couldn't win." A cook said as he sat in front of them. Sanji continued to walk to the ship, refusing to look at any of the other cooks.

"Let's go." Sanji said as he held his own bag in his hand.

"Just like that? Without saying any goodbyes?" Luffy asked.

"It's fine." Sanji replied.

"Hey Sanji," Zeff farewelled, "don't catch a cold." This simple act of compassion caused tears to flow out of Sanji's eyes like a waterfall.

"Owner Zeff!" Sanji shouted as he bowed his head to the great man, "I'm eternally grateful for taking care of me for so long! I promise! I'll never forget the debt I owe you!" Zeff struggled to hold back the tears.

"You bastard!" Patty and Carne exclaimed, tears also flowing down their eyes, "Goddam it! We're going to be lonely without you! So lonely!" Soon the entire crew of fighting cooks ere saluting Sanji and crying loudly.

"Damn bakas…men should say their goodbyes silently." Zeff covered his eyes in an attempt to hide his tears.

"Let's meet again!" Sanji farewelled, "You good for nothing bastards!"

"Set sail!" Luffy yelled. And with the threat of Don Krieg out of the way, the crew sailed off to follow Nami, with a new nakama with them.

**That was a massive trek! 82 pages and 25,637 words! I hope I did this arc justice, I slightly switched up my writing style, I hope you liked it.**

**1. Akuma Hachidori no Gyakushū = Demon Hummingbird Strikes**

**2. Akuma Fokkusu Ken = Demon Fox Fist**

**So Mihawk knows about chakra and only one other person besides Naruto can use it. I'll let you have a guess at who it is! It shouldn't be that hard to figure out. I've also been thinking about keeping Johnny and Yosaku on the crew. Do you think that'd be a good idea? Anyway, thanks for all the support and I hope that you continue reading!**


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